Marrow
by DeGlace
Summary: Kimimaro x Sakura. Because some things reach bone–deep.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** When I first saw Kimimaro, I thought to myself, "this man is beautiful, it's too bad his character is so. Fucking. Bland."… There are only so many expressionless badasses a series can have, imho. (pointed glare at Sasuke, Shino, Gaara and Itachi.)

Then he did that vertebral-spine-whip thing and I fell in love.

For those of you who don't know him, Kimimaro is that guy who uses his bones as weapons, fighting off first Naruto, then Lee, then Gaara, all while suffering a terminal illness. He was slated as Orochimaru's next vessel. There are not enough fics about this guy. (Possibly because he's, uh, dead, but _still._)

**This fic is A/U,** **it diverges from the manga from the Kimimaro/Gaara battle onwards:** Orochimaru has Kabuto keep Kimimaro alive as he is unwilling to lose such a bloodline limit. Years later, Sakura is abducted by the Sound while on a diplomatic mission to Stone and receives the following proposition: heal Kimimaro in exchange for the guarantee that Orochimaru will not use Sasuke as his next vessel.

Kimimaro is 3 years older than Sakura, making him 23 here.

VVVVVV

"In the end, it will only be to your advantage to aid us as best you can, Haruno Sakura." 

In the gloom of the dank room, Sakura could barely make out Orochimaru's pale face. His golden eyes glittered, thin lips pulled into a crooked mimicry of a smile.

Sakura didn't feel the cold, gut-wrenching fear that she had felt when she had first met Orochimaru, that day in the Forest of Death during the chuunin exam. Now it was revulsion, pure distaste. She felt the bile rise in her throat when Orochimaru's abnormally long tongue slipped out to moisten bloodless lips.

"What is your choice?"

"Help you, or death." Sakura tried to keep the quaver in her voice to a minimum. "A fine choice."

Orochimaru's grin widened a little. Beside him, Kabuto stood, expressionless.

"Go over the terms again."

When Orochimaru did not answer, Sakura added a small "please". Orochimaru had a strange regard for politeness and custom.

"You are the only medic who has the medical skill to possibly heal Kimimaro. We have heard of your exploits. Your creativity in the field means you surpass even Tsunade in many ways. Kabuto, who is himself an excellent medi-nin, was highly impressed by your file."

"Cut the compliments. They won't get you anywhere."

Orochimaru looked vaguely displeased at her interruption. "Kimimaro's condition continues to defy Kabuto's abilities."

At this point, Kabuto shuffled a little, mouth pulled downwards as though he had just eaten something unpleasant.

"If you manage to heal Kimimaro fully, I will proceed with my previous plan: that is, to use Kimimaro as my vessel."

Orochimaru looked at Sakura with his strange eyes, a purr in his voice. "And your little _Sasuke-kun_ will go free."

"I don't believe you."

"You have my word that Kimimaro will be used as my next vessel, if you manage to heal him."

"And the vessel after that?"

Orochimaru gave Sakura a small smile, impressed at her mental faculties under pressure. "That would be in a few years. We'll consider it when the time comes."

"I want a guarantee that you will not use Sasuke as a vessel _at all_. Not just temporarily."

"I'm afraid I can't."

"Then I refuse."

"Then you will die."

Sakura stared at the floor, thinking fast. "If you kill me, Kimimaro will never be healed."

"I already know this."

"How long will he last, as a vessel?"

"Perhaps four years." Orochimaru stood back on his heels. He had already won.

"During that time, Sasuke will be free?"

"He will still have my seal. But he will be free to go where he pleases."

"I want him to know of this arrangement."

"I'm afraid that's impossible."

"Why?" Sakura looked up sharply.

"Because we have no idea where he is at this moment."

"Liar."

Orochimaru looked at Sakura, impassive.

"And if I fail to heal Kimimaro?"

"You will be disposed of."

"And Sasuke will be used as your vessel."

"Precisely."

"How long do I have?"

"Kabuto's analysis has predicted three or four months at maximum, in Kimimaro's current condition. He will be dead within half a year."

"If I heal him, will I be allowed to leave freely?"

Orochimaru paused, considering her. "Perhaps. Unless another use for your services is determined."

Sakura was thoroughly displeased with the entire scheme. "I might as well tell you now that I cannot heal your arms."

"I know this."

"Good." She took a breath. "Will I have all the equipment necessary for potential complex procedures?"

"Kabuto's laboratory is well supplied. He has also written extensive notes on the subject of Kimimaro's condition, which he will provide for you."

Sakura rubbed at an eyebrow. Now they were talking. With the proper materials, she was certain she could heal anything. Hopefully. "I expect you will provide food and drink."

"The hospitality of the Sound is legendary." Both Orochimaru and Kabuto gave soft laughs.

A pause.

"I accept to heal Kimimaro so that he is used as your next vessel instead of Sasuke, and so that I will be freed." Sakura was careful with wording, a general "I accept" gave too much leeway for other elements to be wormed into this peculiar verbal contract.

"Smart girl." Orochimaru held out a hand, lifting it with his tongue in mockery of the cordial honesty which usually marked such agreements. Sakura hesitated, then took it. It was cold, clammy and soft. She released it quickly.

"Kabuto will show you to your rooms, the laboratory, and the patient's ward."

Sakura nodded stiffly, a slight adrenaline-fueled tremor coursing through her limbs from the precariousness of the situation.

"One more thing, Haruno Sakura. There are chakra gates surrounding the building. Escape attempts will not be tolerated."

"I know. I felt them as soon as I came in."

"Good. We should get along marvelously." Orochimaru turned his attention to his snake, indicating that the audience had ended.

Feeling more than slightly ill, Sakura followed Kabuto out.

VVVVVV

As it turned out, Sakura's room, the lab and the ward were all within the same area. Kabuto showed Sakura her room first. It had stone walls like the remainder of Orochimaru's complex and was lit by a single bulb hanging from the ceiling. A cot was set up in the corner with a blanket folded on top. The only other furniture was a large desk accompanied by a stool, stacked with a few writing implements and some fresh paper.

The bathroom was even more modest: small toilet, small shower, tiny sink, towel hanging by a nail. A glance told Sakura that it was clean enough. She was grateful for this, at least.

Sakura was surprised when she found that her room led directly to the ward. "Have you been planning this long?"

"When we first heard of you from a passing Mist nin, it crossed our minds that such an arrangement might be favorable, yes." Kabuto was, like Orochimaru, strangely polite and proper. He didn't fit the kidnapper persona, especially since Sakura could recall treating him as a friend and ally, years ago.

"I see."

Kabuto lead Sakura into the dimly lit sick room. She could make out an unmoving figure on the bed, breathing with difficulty. "Lights seem to irritate him. We keep them at a minimum."

"Is he conscious?"

"Occasionally."

They passed through the ward into the lab on the other side. Once they had entered it and shut the door, Kabuto switched on the light. It was excessively bright compared to the previous room, especially since everything was painted in white.

Sakura walked around the laboratory, recognizing various materials and machinery. She was quite impressed at the set-up in such a place. Kabuto showed her to a corner where binders were kept in immaculate bookcases, filled with notes written in a small neat hand. "This is a compilation of my observations until this point. Some of these date back several years, when his illness first began to manifest itself. They are arranged in order."

Kabuto pointed at some notebooks on the side. "These are more geared towards Kimimaro's personal history, his clan's medical history, and his bloodline limit and abilities as far as we know them. Orochimaru decided that it would be best for you to have all the information we could provide."

Sakura's eyes traveled along the spines of the many texts lined up in front of her. She would have a lot of reading to do. Her analytic mind was already calculating how many of the notes she could get through per day.

Kabuto's voice interrupted her calculations: "I will be holding… other duties while you fulfill this post. I will come and check on you as frequently as I can. I will answer any questions regarding Kimimaro to the best of my ability. And I would be interested in hearing your ideas and your take on his case."

Sakura nodded. She felt relatively comfortable with Kabuto, and it was always good to have a sounding wall for thoughts.

"You are not to undertake any invasive surgery or the like without coming to me first."

"I understand."

"You may, however, monitor and examine him physically and internally with your chakra at any time."

"Alright."

"I will take care of his nourishment and hygiene, since those are tasks below the level of a medic such as you."

Sakura raised her eyebrows. "You are hardly a petty nurse yourself, Kabuto."

Kabuto lifted his lips, appreciative of the compliment. "Orders are orders."

"Hm."

"If he dies, your life is forfeit too."

"I know."

"Okay." Kabuto gave Sakura a friendly smile, the same smile he had used to convince her and her old team that he was on their side, years ago. She did not smile back.

"Are you still angry at me for that?"

Sakura decided she definitely needed to work a neutral expression. "Betrayal leaves anyone bitter."

"Mm." Kabuto backed out of the room. "Make yourself at home. We will be in touch, Sakura."

When he had gone, Sakura organized her thoughts. Escaping Orochimaru's intricate chakra-sensing barriers would be suicidal and absolutely out of the question. She therefore turned her attention to the task at hand. These three rooms were her domain. Goal: Heal the bastard in the next room and get the hell out of here alive. Sakura stacked up the first series of binders, figuring on about six hours worth of learning before sleep claimed her.

She passed through the ward on her way to her room, hefting the notes, listening to the strained breathing from the bed. It disturbed her now that she was alone. This man had been reported dead years ago.

Sakura slipped into her own room with a backwards glance, having decided not to undertake any physical examinations before she knew exactly what she was dealing with.

The next few hours passed in a blur of information absorption. She learned of Kimimaro's family history, he was the last living descendant of the Kaguya family. She learned that he had been used as a weapon by his clan, caged until his power was required. Orochimaru had then found him and befriended him, eventually discovering that Kimimaro was powerful enough to make a suitable vessel. She learned that he had been given the Earth cursed seal by Orochimaru shortly after, and highlighted this point. Information like this was crucial.

Kimimaro's illness was, in general terms, some sort of breathing disorder coupled with minor problems with skin irritation and, apparently, immense psychological issues. Kabuto's notes had detailed lists of symptoms of every kind, categorized by alphabetical order. Quite impressive.

When she reached a summary of his bloodline limit, Sakura felt her eyes widen slightly. The ability to manipulate one's entire skeleton? "Shikotsumyaku, 'Dead bone pulse'". Sakura rolled the word on her tongue. Very strange. A detailed analysis of Kimimaro's attacks and defenses followed, including his spinal whip and the potential for a layer of bone under his skin. He was listed as a taijutsu expert and master swordsman, as well. Small wonder Orochimaru had been interested in him. His bloodline limit alone sounded as powerful as the Sharingan.

Eyes dry from too much reading, Sakura cleaned up and quit for the night, brain buzzing.

VVVVVV

Kabuto knocked and entered the following morning, bearing a tray of food. "Good morning, Sakura."

_Do I really have to say good morning to an abductor?_ Kabuto looked at her pleasantly. "'Morning." Sakura towel-dried her hair as Kabuto took in the mass of papers piled upon the desk.

"I hope my notes were of use?"

"Very useful."

"I am glad."

"However, you consistently misspell 'pneumocyte'."

Kabuto eyed her, nonplussed. "I see. Anything else?"

"Yes. 'Subendothelial' has only one 'b'."

"Ah." Kabuto looked vaguely embarrassed, readjusting his glasses. Sakura pressed her advantage.

"And 'erythrocyte' has a 'y', not an 'i'." She could have laughed when she saw him stare at the ground.

"But other than that, good notes. You have an interesting way of looking at things." Sakura resisted the urge to give Kabuto a patronizing pat on the head. _And/or a kunai twixt the ribs._

"I would be interested in reading your own thoughts on his case."

"I will be making reports as I begin my observations."

"Very well." Kabuto dropped the tray on the desk and left, barely catching Sakura's mumbled "thank you".

VVVVVV

A week later, Sakura was satisfied with her knowledge base. The further she had perused the notes, the more she praised Kabuto when he asked about them. He always looked pleased.

She was ready to actually look at the patient himself now, armed with information and vague theories.

"I will be starting my own observations today."

"I see. I will inform Orochimaru."

"Don't get his hopes up. I said observations, not healing."

"He will be informed regardless."

"Alright."

Kabuto took Sakura's empty tray and departed with a pleasant "until later".

Sakura hoped Orochimaru wouldn't come down to watch. She hadn't seen him since that first night, and she was more than happy to continue like this.

She entered the dim room and made her way towards the bed, avoiding the IV, life support and various alarm systems which Kabuto had set up as alerts to halted breathing or heartbeat.

Sakura leaned forward as here eyes adjusted to the low light. If it wasn't for the breathing, she would have thought she was looking at a corpse. Scratch that, she had seen bodies at the morgue that looked more lively.

Kimimaro was perhaps the palest living human she had ever seen. His white hair, drawn to the side in a loose pony tail, only accentuated the look. His face was gaunt, his cheeks sunken. He might have been handsome once. There were two red circles on his brow, and his eyelids were enhanced by a similar coloring. Some sort of clan markings denoting rank, the notes had said. They appeared gradually as the clan member aged and gained power, a signal of the bloodline limit that coursed through the veins.

His mouth was half open and each was breath drawn as if it was his last. This man was clearly fighting a losing battle for his life.

His survival was the key to Sakura's, and hell if she would be the one to let him die. Sakura's medic persona took over immediately.

She slipped off the sheets, making a mental note to praise Kabuto for his care. Everything was crisp and clean, down to the loose boxer-type shorts Kimimaro wore. She observed the broad chest, once well-muscled, she would presume, which was now lined by the dents formed by ribs. Thicker ribs than normal people. _Interesting._ The arms and legs were in a similar state, giving evidence of previous musculature which had atrophied through disuse.

She would get to know this body very well before the day was over. Sakura cracked her knuckles (a habit which enraged Tsunade, back in her apprentice days) and pumped chakra to her hands.

Sakura's perfectly balanced chakra meant that she excelled at delicate tasks. Operations such as this, exploratory "system surfing", as she liked to call it, for example.

She pressed her hands to the smooth, pale chest. Her eyes became unseeing as she "felt" with her chakra, flowing through veins (where his blood pumped altogether too slowly) and arteries.

This initial blood vessel network check yielded immense amounts of information. After half an hour, Sakura was already filling the gaps in Kabuto's notes.

She then checked Kimimaro's nervous system, "traveling" from the brain to the tips of his toes. Here too she learned much. His spine far less nerve pathways than normal people's spines, but the area surrounding it had many more. And his reflexes would be amazing, if he was healthy – he had more nerve endings near the surface of his skin than most.

Scanning Kimimaro's skeletal structure gave her a little more trouble, principally because his bones were so strange. They were far thicker than normal bones, around three times as dense and packed with minerals. She could hardly worm her chakra into them to pass through. His spongy bone tissue (located at the ends of bones) was as compressed as a normal person's_compact_ bone tissue. The nutrient canals were piled with reserve minerals. Sakura had never seen the like before.

By the end of the day, Sakura was exhausted but satisfied. She gave Kabuto a long explanation of her findings, sitting on her stool while he sat on the bed. He was really a pleasant man when not actively engaged in malevolent backstabbing, respecting her opinions and agreeing with good humor when she pointed out flaws or holes in his observations.

"Tomorrow I will focus on his lungs."

"I will inform Orochimaru."

"Mm. I did not find any signs of the problem with skin irritation."

"It flares up occasionally. Perhaps due to the habit of constantly breaking the skin in order to use his bones."

"I will look out for it."

Kabuto considered Sakura. "You have discovered more in one week than I have working on him for several years."

"My chakra balance allows me to do things which normal medics cannot."

"It is impressive. Orochimaru will be pleased."

Sakura picked at the corner of a paper. "Do you think you could ask him if I can go for walks, sometimes? I need to see the sun."

Kabuto gave her a small smile. "I'm sure that can be arranged."

"Thanks."

That night, amidst thoughts of bone and nerves, Sakura dreamed of a pair of eyes as green as her own, expressionless and unblinking.

VVVVVV

**A/N: **I do not have a beta. If you spot a particularly bad typo or an extraordinarily convoluted sentence, please leave me a PM or review and I'll fix it ASAP.

I'm thinking a little Kabuto x Sakura on the side wouldn't go amiss, but then I'd want to devote all my attention to them and Kimimaro would end up alone. I might make a side fic later.

Next chapter: let's have Kimimaro return to consciousness for a little. (grin)


	2. Chapter 2

VVVVVV

Sakura's complete analysis of Kimimaro's lungs took three days to finish. Her primary diagnosis had been that his lungs were, to put it honestly, "completely fucked". Her final diagnosis was that they were "even more completely fucked".

She did not, however, write such things in her observation booklets (as Kabuto would no doubt be less than impressed). Instead, she hefted out some anatomical tomes and refreshed her knowledge of the respiratory system. Of all the illnesses Kimimaro could have, it had to be the lungs. One of the most delicate, fragile, and yet essential parts of his body. _Ugh._

Sakura discussed her findings with Kabuto late into the night. She was ready to attempt a healing.

"There is some sort of bacterial infection that is causing the damage, as far as I can tell. I will need to purge it out of his system first. It's going to be messy."

"Will you need assistance?"

"I would like to have you there."

"Alright."

"Once he has stabilized after I clear out all traces of infection, I will be able to 'see' the damage even more clearly. Then we will know if he actually has a chance to live."

Kabuto nodded in assent. "I will return in the morning. We can begin then."

"One more thing. Do you think you can set up a monitoring system here?" Sakura motioned towards one of the walls of her room. "I would like to keep an eye on his vitals while I'm doing paperwork."

Rubbing his chin, Kabuto paced the length of the room and passed into the other, estimating the dimensions and material required. "That should be feasible."

"Thank you."

"You are very welcome." Kabuto gave her a small smile and exited, writing notes on a pad.

VVVVVV

The operation went moderately well. It was infuriatingly slow going to cleanse out the infection, as every single alveolar lumen had to be purged (in the most delicate, gentle sense of the term). However, Sakura was not the top medic in Konoha for nothing. She patiently extracted bacteria, phlegm and other debris section by section. Kabuto stood at her side, monitoring the screens and operating the little pump which gently sucked the waste out of Kimimaro's trachea.

When she had finished one lung, they took a break for a very late lunch. Within a half an hour, the two were back at it, patiently, slowly.

Night fell. Hours later, Sakura withdrew her chakra from the near-lifeless body in front of her. "That should do it."

Nodding, Kabuto switched off the pump. There were three little sacs full of the gunk Sakura had removed. She wrinkled her nose under her surgical mask. "You need to dispose of those carefully. It hasn't demonstrated a tendency towards contagiousness, but we can never be certain."

"I will be cautious."

Sakura nodded, washing her hands and putting away miscellaneous equipment. "His breathing sounds better already."

"It does."

"It's no guarantee, though. Tomorrow I will do a thorough damage evaluation. Some parts of his lungs felt like they were beyond healing while I was 'in there' today. We will have to see."

VVVVVV

"What did you find?"

Sakura had just pulled her hands away from the pale chest. Kabuto watched her, concern evident in his eyes. If the damage wasn't healable, things didn't bode well for the pink-haired medic.

"It is difficult to say." Sakura paused. "The damage is extensive. I'm honestly surprised that he is alive right now, and has been alive for all this time."

"Mm. He as a very strong will to live. His loyalty to Orochimaru is unsurpassed."

"I see." Sakura rubbed a knuckle, resisting the urge to crack it. "This will be difficult, lengthy, and with too much potential for errors. Usually I would refuse to heal him, except," a mirthless smile, "I do not have a choice."

"That is correct."

"I will begin now. If I need help, how can I reach you?"

"Flicking this switch will inform me that you need me." Kabuto pointed at a smallish button.

"Alright."

"I wish you luck." Kabuto slipped out of the door.

"Thank you." She snapped on her mask.

VVVVVV

One week later, Sakura felt more satisfied than ever before. The healing had been an obscenely, agonizingly slow process – each alveoli had to be reformed, bacteria she had missed had to be removed, and each section had to be tested thoroughly before moving on. Kabuto came in for updates, eyebrows rising when he noticed the leaps and bounds in improvement on the screens.

"Orochimaru is very happy."

"He'd better be." Sakura allowed herself a grin. "Kimimaro's lungs are currently functioning at 88 percent capacity. They were at 45 percent when I arrived."

She pointed at an x-ray-like diagram on one screen. "Here you can see the remaining 'dead' areas. There are some which are too far gone and which I will not be able to heal. I will try replicating lung tissue there instead, extracting the dead cells."

Kabuto considered her. "I'm very impressed."

Sakura looked away, still smiling. "Thank you. I'm glad. It has been quite an experience."

"I can hardly hear his breathing now."

"Yes. He should be coming back into consciousness soon enough, as his body doesn't have to shut down in order to conserve energy and oxygen."

"Mm."

They regarded the figure on the bed which was breathing easily for the first time in years.

"If you would like, the courtyard is free for another walk outside."

"Let's go."

Kabuto held the door for Sakura as she stepped out, following her with his eyes.

VVVVVV

Sakura stood by the bed the next morning, checking each blinking screen and making a few notes. She dropped her pen with a clatter and leaned over to pick it up. When she straightened out, she was aware of another presence in the room. Kabuto? A glance around told her he wasn't there.

"Who are you?" A whisper.

Sakura started and leaned over the bed. Kimimaro was awake, green eyes open and focused on her. _Very pretty eyes._

"Haruno Sakura." She gave him her concerned doctor smile (patient relations being very important in the healing process), "I have been taking care of you for a while."

There was a pause during which Kimimaro closed his eyes and Sakura fidgeted with her pen. He was able to talk again after a few minutes. "How long do I have left to live?" His voice was still a whisper, vocal chords unused to speech after such a long time without.

"Quite a long time, if my calculations are correct." Sakura gave him a grin when the fine eyebrows raised a fraction of an inch, incredulous. "I have healed your lung disease. I still have some issues to take care of, but you should be fine."

Kimimaro said nothing, fixing her with the same stare. He did not believe her. _Pfft, after all that._

"Try taking some breaths."

Sakura watched his attention shift to his own breathing. The pale chest raised and lowered slowly, ribcage expanding and contracting without a hitch.

"Can you feel the difference?"

A pause. "I can."

Sakura smiled. _Quite the talkative type. _"Would you like me to get Kabuto?"

"Yes."

"He'll be right here." Sakura flicked the switch Kabuto had shown her earlier.

Kabuto arrived a few moments later, rather out of breath. He noticed with some surprise that Kimimaro was awake and nodded to Sakura. She exited the room, leaving them to talk about whatever it is potential vessels and right-hand men talk about.

Sakura had a meeting with Orochimaru that night, only the second since she arrived. He was excessively complimentary and manipulatively kind, as usual.

"I have healed his lungs. I hope you have not forgotten your end of the deal."

"Of course not. However…" Sakura began to glare while Orochimaru continued. "Now that you know so much about him, it would be most excellent if you would proceed with follow-up care. He is no good to me if he cannot even get out of his bed."

"Kabuto is qualified enough to take care of that."

"Kabuto is also very busy."

Sakura clenched her jaw in annoyance. "Very well. I will continue my care of him until he is able to walk."

"And fight."

She gritted her teeth. "And fight. And then I'm out of here."

Orochimaru smiled, toying with the small snake around his neck. "I am glad that he is in your capable hands."

VVVVVV

**A/N: **Thank you for the lovely reviews! I hope to make this pairing work. I love the challenge of alt pairings, it's a lot of fun and keeps you on your toes.

I'm thinking a little onesided Kabuto x Sakura rather than something mutual. Whatever it is, it'll be slight. No passionate love-making amidst the test tubes in the lab. That's for Kimimaro.

Kidding.

Maybe.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer which hereby applies to all chaps and all my fics so I don't have to keep putting it up: I do not own Naruto. If I did, Kimimaro wouldn't wear anything under his kimono.

VVVVVV

"Psychological issues" did not even _begin _to describe Kimimaro, in Sakura's opinion. His emotional development had been stunted and twisted, normal human interaction seemed beyond his understanding. A nightmarish childhood followed by years getting brainwashed by Orochimaru, followed by more years of decaying health had made this man, quite simply, a mess.

Kimimaro's most extreme physical expressions were eyebrow-raises and occasionally widening eyes. The pale face might have been made of bone for all it moved. When he spoke, the sentences were clipped, rolling off his tongue with a toneless smooth voice.

He had an affinity for touch. Sakura did not know whether or not he was even aware of it. She thought it might have been Orochimaru's influence – she remembered him caressing Anko while disguised at the first chuunin exam.

Kimimaro was verbally and emotionally reserved and yet almost embarrassingly unaware of social convention. Fingers would trail down Sakura's arms while she examined him, or the back of his hand would brush against her cheek. Kabuto got the same treatment, which he responded to with irritated jerks.

When Sakura asked Kabuto about it later, he told her the habit had developed during Kimimaro's first serious bout of illness, before he had torn himself out of his bed and ran off to fight Naruto, Gaara and Lee. Kabuto was of the opinion that it was a remnant of his childhood. Sequestered and treated as an object, he had not received any of the normal human contact, and now searched for it in the easiest way possible. Sakura tended to agree.

Every day, Sakura bustled in with a "good morning!" which was met by a green stare. She wondered whether she ought to inform him that a quick "hello" was more socially acceptable than brushes against her cheek.

He would say things sometimes while she was leaning over, fiddling with various sensors, which a normal person would not say. "I like your smell" or other such phrases, without the awkwardness which would follow statements like this in a normal context. None of the usual social inhibitions. Sakura was sure she could strip him naked and he wouldn't bat an eyelash.

Not that she _would_. It was just something she noticed.

VVVVVV

The first time Kimimaro had been conscious when Sakura did a chakra examination, he had been fascinated. As denoted by eyebrows moving upwards _almost three millimeters. _

"I know it feels a bit strange to have someone else's chakra in you, but it won't hurt. I promise."

Kimimaro watched her hands warily when she placed them on his chest. She noticed goosebumps. _Hm._

"System surfing" is different when the person is awake. There was increased resistance from his own chakra, as well as a tenseness.

"Try to relax."

Kimimaro's abdominals tightened in response. Sakura laughed and withdrew her hands. "We'll try again some other time." The last thing Sakura wanted was to get involved in a clash with Kimimaro's overly sensitive chakra.

The next time, he was completely loose, closing his eyes when she touched him.

VVVVVV

Kimimaro asked about Orochimaru daily, snatching both her forearms with a grip which would be bruising within a few weeks. Since her contact with Orochimaru was fleeting at best, Sakura did not have much to tell him. His eyes always searched hers for a few seconds after her "I don't know anything new" responses, looking for what… a lie? He never found one. She was as honest and open as the day.

She asked Kabuto if Orochimaru might see Kimimaro one night. Kabuto had frowned, displeased. "No. Orochimaru is only interested in his body. Kimimaro is still in his bad books after that loss to the genins, years ago."

"He was half-dead upon entry to that fight. I think it's amazing he was able to hold out for so long. I know those three genins – two of which are jounins right now, and one of which is Kazekage – personally, and they are not easy foes."

"I know."

"Two demon vessels and a Drunken Fist user!"

"I know."

"_Demon vessels,_Kabuto. Two."

"I know."

"So how can Kimimaro be in Orochimaru's 'bad books'?"

"He did not succeed."

"Then Orochimaru is abysmally stupid."

"Sakura. You are forgetting your place."

"Kimimaro _loves_ the man. He worships him."

"I know."

"Well then?"

"To be honest with you, Kimimaro will probably not see him until the preparations for Orochimaru's vessel transfer are being made."

Sakura was thoroughly unimpressed. "I think you ought to tell Kimimaro that, then. I'm tired of dealing with it."

Kabuto's mouth twisted. "Very well."

Kimimaro did not ask about Orochimaru again after that. His dispassionate stare was unchanged, though there was something disheartened in the droop of his shoulders the next day.

VVVVVV

Over the next few weeks, Sakura showed Kimimaro a variety of exercises which he could do while lying on the bed, strengthening the muscles gradually.

"Eventually, I will bring you some weights, and we can start on your muscle mass. Orochimaru wants you able to fight before he takes you as his vessel. Okay?"

At the word "vessel", Kimimaro's head tilted slightly. A flicker of realization appeared in his eyes. Sakura still thought he would be the next vessel. Disillusioned by Kabuto and Orochimaru. Hm.

"Yes."

Kimimaro enjoyed the exercises immensely. They gave him something to do to melt away the hours while his system recovered from several years of illness.

He was quite disgusted with his body, his weakness. He looked at his arms, thin and pale, felt his bony face. A shell of his former self. He was grateful beyond words for the fact that Orochimaru still saw fit to keep him alive. He'd be glad to serve the most pitiful menial positions under him. Messenger, sentry, anything.

And his lungs, oh! How wonderful it was to be able to breathe freely. To inhale without feeling the need to cough, to exhale without a sluggish rumble of liquid. He sat up as straight as his wasted muscles would allow and enjoyed the simple pleasure of breathing.

Kimimaro could feel himself growing stronger by the day, biceps and pectorals once again became visible masses underneath his skin. Sakura had taken him off the IV drip a few days ago, and he was taking in his own food. Well, sort of. His hand-eye coordination was shot, and his fingers still couldn't quite grip chopsticks or forks.

Sakura hand-fed him with good-natured patience. He liked it. Perhaps when he was able to manipulate eating utensils again, he would return the favor. Perhaps that was what it was customary to do.

He studied her while she spoon-fed him broth. Bright green eyes, light pink hair pulled back into a loose bun, a soft smiling mouth. Well-defined cheekbones and a small, shapely nose.

He supposed this was what they called 'pretty'. He told her he thought she was pretty. She laughed and blushed a little. Was this a good response? He focused on the soup once more.

Definitely pretty. Prettier than Tayuya had been. More respectful, too. Less foul-mouthed. More powerful? Maybe. He had seen her bend steel easily as she repaired a crooked chair. It had been unexpected, that amount of strength in the svelte body, in the gentle hands.

Sakura put away the bowl and gave him a spoon in each hand, asking him to fiddle and twirl them in order to improve his dexterity. Within a few hours, he was able to hold them almost normally, fingers aching and cramping with exertion.

VVVVVV

Kimimaro's skin condition broke out a few days later. Upon seeing it (a reddish rash upon his pale skin), Sakura called Kabuto.

He confirmed that it was indeed the same which had manifested itself before. "Limited to the chest area this time. What do you make of it, Sakura?"

Sakura peered at it closely, brushing fingertips against it. Kimimaro sat, frozen. Kabuto rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"I have no idea what could have caused it. Your previous allergy tests on Kimimaro always came clean." Sakura pressed a finger to her lips, musing.

"Hm."

"I'm pretty sure I can make a salve for this. I have a friend who is skilled in ointments and she has shared her knowledge." _Thank you, Hinata._Sakura moved towards the lab. "I'll be done in an hour or two. Call if it gets worse or if you have any trouble breathing, Kimimaro."

Kimimaro nodded, flicking the spoons back and forth with quick snaps of his wrists. Kabuto's presence irritated him, though he did not know why. He supposed he was jealous of Kabuto's continuing contact with Orochimaru.

He pushed his hair out of his eyes (nearly giving himself a black eye in the process), impatient for the day he would be able to fix it himself.

VVVVVV

Sakura exited from the lab some time later, holding up a little pot of a creamy substance in triumph. "I hope this works."

She unscrewed the lid and spread it on her hands. "It's going to be warm, don't worry. Fresh out of the blender."

Kimimaro nodded, still flicking his spoons, sitting with his legs hanging off the side of the bed.

"If it starts to burn or anything like that, tell me immediately, alright?"

She moved between his legs, pressing her hands with quick, sure motions on his smooth chest. The mixture was easy to spread, but needed to be worked in.

Ten minutes passed. Sakura wished there was a less… sensual way to do this. Maybe she ought to ask him to lie down, instead of standing here between his knees. Her motions felt too licentious. If she sped up, it would look strange. If she slowed down, it would be worse.

Kimimaro stared intensely at her hands, then at her face. It was quite disconcerting. She wished she knew what he was thinking, every time his eyes flicked from one feature to the other. Mouth. Eyes. Mouth again.

Was he breathing faster, or was it just her?

Sakura tried to use her palms more in an effort to make the salve get absorbed faster. Kimimaro shuddered slightly when she reached lower, down the abdominals towards his navel. Sakura decided to move sideways instead, out towards the ribs.

She was pleased to feel a layer of subcutaneous fat and muscle underneath the skin and told Kimimaro so in an effort to break the rather uncomfortable silence that had fallen.

He replied with a strange sound. She glanced up, hands on his ribcage, wondering if he was choking.

Then she realized he was ticklish.

She laughed. He looked at her with a glint of suspicion in his eyes. "What are you doing?"

"Putting on the salve."

"I mean, why do you laugh?"

"Because I didn't expect you to be ticklish."

"Hm."

"It's okay, I'm ticklish too."

"Oh."

VVVVVV

Sakura began to notice a rather interesting phenomenon. Sitting at her desk, she observed the monitors which were networked wirelessly, programmed to Kimimaro's chakra signature.

If she made a noise, she saw the brain activity levels rise slightly. Normal response.

When Kabuto entered Kimimaro's room for his check-ups, the same neural activity rises occurred.

When _she_ entered Kimimaro's room, the levels increased higher than for Kabuto.

When she entered his room and headed for the bed, they spiked. There was also a slight increase in heart rate.

_Hmm._

She would dearly have liked to have Orochimaru walk in so she could compare the reactions.

VVVVVV

**A/N: **Just want to mention… the VVVVVs can denote anything from a time skip (from two hours to days to weeks) or perspective changes. I tend to switch heads a lot when I'm writing.

Someone brought up the lack of Naruto / Sasuke / anyone concerned about Sakura's two month disappearance. Good question. This fic is told from her point of view for the most part, so we do not see what she does not see, except for occasional glimpses into Kimimaro's and Kabuto's minds.

…I'll tell you what's going on outside of their little world:

Sasuke is angsting about his cursed seal level 2 form looking like an emo. Then he gets a myspace account (screenname: angel-of-Ebon-Winged-oblivion69x). Tsunade has dropped the Hokage title because XXX porn movies pay better. Orochimaru's on What Not To Wear (the purple bow thing? what the fuck?) and Kakashi maintains an adult entertainment boutique in Los Angeles. Jiraiya has become a nun.

Any questions?


	4. Chapter 4

VVVVVV

During an evening walk in the courtyard of Orochimaru's compound with Kabuto, Sakura brought up something which had been niggling at the back of her mind. Her own efforts at unpuzzling it at been futile, so she decided to ask.

"Kabuto. The notes mentioned Orochimaru's seal."

Kabuto looked up abruptly from the ground. "Yes…"

"Any reason why I haven't been able to find a trace of it during all my time observing Kimimaro's body?"

"Oh." Kabuto pursed his lips, as if he was debating something internally. "It was… removed."

"And the notes failed to mention this because…?" Sakura's voice took on an annoyed tone.

"Perhaps I forgot."

Crossing her arms, Sakura raised an eyebrow. "_You_ don't forget that kind of thing."

"I'm not perfect."

Sakura scoffed. "Well I'm not stupid. It was an intentional omission."

Kabuto said nothing, watching her expressionlessly.

"So now the question is, why would you try to… hide… or make me not notice… this?" She frowned at Kabuto's back as he started to walk away. "I'm talking to you, Kabuto."

"You ask too many questions."

Sakura ignored this rather unsubtle request for silence. "The seals sap gradually at one's life force but eventually put the receiver under Orochimaru's complete control. If Kimimaro was going to be his vessel, why would Orochimaru remove it? He only needed him to live four years."

Sakura planted herself in front of Kabuto, giving him the "don't _mess_ with me or you're on suppositories for a week" glare. "Something isn't adding up here, Kabuto."

Kabuto said nothing.

Sakura took a large step forward. "You have lied to me before. If I find out you are lying again, I swear…" Her hand shot out and grabbed Kabuto's belt buckle, pulling him towards her, glowering. "I will emasculate you."

Kabuto's expression went from irritated to mildly amused. "I'd like to see you try."

Clenching her jaw, Sakura did a two second cost-benefit analysis of the process of my-knee-to-his-groin-right-NOW. Her weight shifted to her left leg.

Kabuto watched with interest. It's not every day that a pretty medic holds you to her by the belt so that a certain part of your anatomy almost, _almost_ touches her thigh.

Sakura noticed the small smile on his lips, and the way the eyes behind the glasses darkened to take on a completely different look. She saw his stance change so _he_ was the one leaning forwards in a slightly aggressive manner.

She pulled away brusquely. "I'm not happy with this situation. I want to speak to Orochimaru."

"He's unavailable."

"Bullshit."

"He's not even in the country."

"Not even in the country. Of course." _Like hell._ "Then when will he be back?"

"I don't know."

"Well tell him I want to speak to him the minute he comes back. If I'm being manipulated by you _again_…" Sakura trailed off and stalked towards her rooms, anger evident in her tone and posture.

Kabuto watched her go with an appraising glint in his dark eyes. _Little spitfire. _

VVVVVV

After these few weeks of nourishment and exercises, Kimimaro began to grow restless in his bed. He would toss and turn, glare at the monitors, glare at Sakura, glare at Kabuto, then toss and turn again. He made several serious attempts at getting up, instantly smothered by either Sakura in her Severe mode or Kabuto in his I'm-Telling-Orochimaru mode.

Kimimaro's strength was gathering in leaps and bounds; his body was responding to Sakura's excellent care coupled with the enhanced healing abilities his bloodline provided. He was able to put up serious struggles with increasing frequency.

"I _said_ you are not supposed to get up yet."

"I don't care."

"I don't care if you don't care. Lay back down before you undo two months' worth of work."

"No thank you."

"Kimimaro."

"I am not an old woman."

Hands on his shoulders, Sakura pressed Kimimaro back down from his half-sitting-half-sliding-off-the-bed position. "Your body is not_ ready_ yet. I will _tell_ you when you can get up."

Kimimaro resisted with surprising strength, elbows locked and hands pressing against the bed. "I am fine. You cannot push me down any more. That is an improvement."

With a quick motion, Sakura brought a hand around his back and pressed the crook of an elbow. Kimimaro's arm collapsed under his weight. He fell back with an indistinct grunt.

Sakura halted his next attempt with her full weight on his upper arms. Kimimaro watched her hovering above him with a vaguely satisfied expression.

Tired of wrestling Kimimaro back to bed – she was beginning to think that his little escape attempts were designed specifically for that moment – Sakura decided to let him try to stand.

"Fine. I'll let you attempt it today. If your leg condition permits it."

Sakura passed her hands over Kimimaro's legs, evaluating the muscle he had built up. "You've got a decent base here. I'm not worried about your knee joints because your skeleton has demonstrated the ability to take care of itself. Your calves look alright." Sakura slid her hand over the muscle, satisfied. "Thighs are getting toned again, inner and – " she was careful not to slide her hand in _that_ direction too high "—outer. Quads are fine."

Kimimaro watched her with half-lidded eyes, twirling a spoon with a distant look in his eyes.

"I think you should be capable of standing up. Do you want to try right now?"

He dragged his eyes from her face and swung his legs over the side of the bed. "Yes."

"Don't be angry if you cannot do it just yet. You haven't been able to walk for a long time. Your muscles and joints won't be used to it. We are going to take this slowly."

Sakura perched herself beside Kimimaro on the bed and hooked his arm around her neck, passing hers around his back. He turned to look at her, faces a few inches apart. Light green met deeper green.

Sakura noticed that he had a very nice mouth. Fine lips, pale and slightly parted. She could see a hint of very white teeth between them. Rather nice chin, too, rough with day-old stubble. The eyes were emphasized by the red markings, scarlet against the pale skin. _Heyy, good lookin'..._ Sakura was forcibly reminded to keep up the mental exercises she used to keep Inner Sakura in check.

Breaking her stare, Sakura smiled and gave Kimimaro a nudge. "Come on."

He watched her for a few moments with disturbing intensity. She nudged him again, feeling altogether too hot in this little room.

Kimimaro lifted himself up without too much difficulty, Sakura supporting him. They clung together at first, fearing a fall. He stabilized himself, feet shoulder width apart. Sakura released him slowly as he straightened out.

To her surprise, Kimimaro was over a head taller than she was. Sakura hadn't considered his height, always leaning over him while he was bedridden. It was strange. Almost intimidating. It reminded her that he was… well, very much a man. A man with enough psychological problems to fill a couple of textbooks. _Also, very beautiful. _

Kimimaro had a satisfied look in his eyes when he turned to her, standing on his own. Almost a smile. Sakura backed away. He took a wobbly step towards her, leg reaching forward uncertainly, arms ready to break a fall. Another step followed. And another.

Sakura's inner medic didn't give a damn whether he was Sound or not, he was her patient, and he was improving beyond belief. Nearly two months had passed since she first started her work on that half-dead being in the dim room.

She gave him a grin and a small round of applause, laughing when one of his knees gave out and he fell into her arms.

"That was pretty good."

"Yes." His face was somewhere between her neck and shoulder.

_Ah, screw it._ Sakura tightened her arms into a hug. "Not bad for the man who asked me how much longer he had to live a couple months back."

She felt him stiffen at first, then return the hug, tightly enough to snap some ribs. He whispered a deep "thank you" near her ear. Sakura felt a shiver course down her spine.

"It's alright."

Sakura held him a little longer, unsure of when he would release her. She didn't want to offend him. He did not show any inclination towards letting go after a few minutes.

_He's shaking…?_

Sakura heard Kabuto's quick steps in the hallway. They pulled apart quickly.

Kabuto entered, then stopped and stared almost comically at Kimimaro standing. His eyes moved from him to Sakura, a few feet away. She gave a falsely cheerful "guess who's out of bed?", eliciting a nod from him.

"Orochimaru will be pleased."

Kimimaro blinked in assent. Sakura could have rolled her eyes. _Always Orochimaru will be pleased. Orochimaru will be pleased. Orochimaru can suck crap. _

Kabuto had felt something upon entering the room. Something light and… hmm. He couldn't quite define it. He passed his eyes from Sakura to Kimimaro again, searching for a sign, something which would help him pinpoint…

A glance at Kimimaro's monitors told him that Kimimaro's heart rate was up. But that could easily be due to the exertion of standing and walking.

Kabuto's eyes were thoughtful as he left them to their exercises.

VVVVVV

Kimimaro's progress was rapid after this. Sakura often heard him pacing slowly in the room next to her, stumbling occasionally. She showed him the squats, lunges and leg-lifts which would help reform his muscular structure. He did them obsessively.

_Overall, a very good patient_. Sakura mused as she ran fingers through shower-damp hair. She sat upon the bed clad in a shirt and comfortable shorts, reading a genetic history of the Shikotsumyaku bone-molding ability._I'll ask him if he's up to showing me some of this tomorrow. _

She was suddenly aware that the door between her room and Kimimaro's ward had been opened for quite some time. Glancing up, she caught Kimimaro's green gaze. "What's the matter?" Unsure of what Kimimaro wanted, Sakura gave him a quick once-over with her eyes, checking for bruised limbs or cuts.

He seemed rather surprised at her presence there.

"This was a hallway before."

"Oh. Well, it's my room now."

"I did not know."

"It's okay."

"I apologize."

Sakura almost laughed. He was so formal. "It's alright. You can come in."

He took a step inside after a few seconds. Sakura noticed that instead of his usual nondescript hospital-issue boxers, Kimimaro was wearing some sort of white kimono. _Managed to dress himself. Good. _

"I like what you did to your hair", she said cordially. Kimimaro passed a hand over the two evenly parted halves, attached at the bottom with red elastics. The part in between was a jagged zigzag, reminiscent of a cracked bone.

"It is the traditional style of the Kaguya."

"I see."

The desk was concealed under a heap of her usual notes, the stool was stacked with more. Sakura watched Kimimaro glance over them without much interest.

"They're all about you, you know."

"Oh. You read about me."

"Yes. A lot of it was written by Kabuto, some of it by me."

"What is there to write about?"

"A lot of things. Your health, observations, your bloodline…"

"Hm."

Kimimaro approached the desk, lifting a sheet and perusing it. Sakura hoped he hadn't found one of the lists of his psychological problems.

"I can't understand this."

Kimimaro brought the paper to Sakura and stood, waiting for an explanation. "Oh, yeah… can't blame you. These are names of microscopic structures in your lungs."

"Oh."

His eyes lowered to the bed. "I'm reading something about your bloodline limit now." Sakura indicated the book in front of her. "I was going to ask you tomorrow if you would mind showing me some simple manipulations."

"I would not mind."

"Good." Sakura smiled, returning his gaze.

"I would not mind right now."

"Oh?" Sakura would have liked to have finished her reading, but moved over instead. "Take a seat."

They faced each other, sitting cross-legged, knees touching. A glance at the monitors showed Sakura that Kimimaro's neural activity was once again spiking.

"Are you sure you feel okay with this? I don't want you to do it if there's a chance it will hurt you."

"I did it the first day I woke up."

"Really?" Sakura asked in surprise. "Alright then."

Kimimaro held out his forearm. Sakura watched and felt her eyebrows raise as a lump formed near his radius, quickly becoming a point under the skin. A glint of bone was soon visible, pushing outwards. The bone continued to slip out until it tapered to a point. Kimimaro caught it with his other hand and passed it to Sakura as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

If she hadn't been a medic, and hadn't researched this trait, Sakura was sure she would have felt rather queasy. It was quite a disturbing sight. She watched the hole where the bone had come out of reform quickly, the few drops of blood disappearing.

She took the chopstick-sized bone, feeling the keen points on either end. "Where does the blood go?"

"We can absorb it back in around the wound."

Sakura tried to snap the bone. It resisted, giving only slightly. "This is impressive."

Kimimaro shrugged elegantly. "I will be able to do more, when I am stronger."

"Does it hurt to push them out?"

"Not really."

"How long will this bone last, out of your body?"

"As long as I want it to."

She twirled the bone with her fingers, rubbed it, tried to bite it, gingerly touched the needle-sharp point. "You have one cool bloodline limit."

Kimimaro watched her. "Thank you."

"Can I keep this?"

"Yes."

Sakura pulled her hair into a bun, sliding the thin bone through it as a holder. "Thanks. Now." Sakura held her hand over his forearm, close enough to feel the little hairs there. A spike on the monitors. "Can you push one out, but slowly? I want to feel what happens."

Another lump formed beneath her hand. Sakura felt the skin break, then the smooth surface of a bone. He had made it rounded this time, perhaps to prevent her from getting her palm pierced, perhaps on a whim.

Sakura sent a tendril of chakra into it to feel the joint where the bone separated from his skeleton. Kimimaro narrowed his eyes when he felt it, and he slowed the bone growth further.

Sakura's eyes became unseeing as she swirled with the chakra, trying to understand how this worked. Where did the extra material for this come from? From the reserves in his skeleton's nutritional canals? Those wouldn't last nearly long enough. Hmm.

Sakura pulled back out, thinking hard. The bone was reabsorbed when he saw that she was done. She stared absently at the "V" of skin exposed on his chest, theories flicking through her mind. She reached out a hand, a distant look in her eyes.

Kimimaro felt her come back in, hand on his collarbone. Little jolts of her chakra explored his regular joints. It was very pleasant when she worked her way up his spine. He passed his fingers over her shin, distracted.

He liked touching her, so he did. Nobody had ever told him not to. She didn't tell him not to. And she wasn't paying attention right now, anyway. Kimimaro leaned forwards so he could look into her eyes while she was 'seeing' somewhere in his left tibia. Pretty eyes. Green, like his, only with a softer look. No horribly twisted past, no death intent.

He leaned back, hands on knees, watching her intently. Sakura withdrew, rubbing at the back of her neck with a puzzled expression. Kimimaro was struck by a sudden thought.

"When you do that with your chakra…"

"Mm?"

"Can you feel my thoughts?"

"No…"

"Good."

She smiled absently. "Why's that?"

"Because."

"I can only 'see' physical things."

"Oh."

"I'm going to go back in. Your ribs are interesting."

Kimimaro nodded. Sakura leaned forward again, both hands pressed against his chest. She pulled back with a slight frown. Folding her legs in from her previous position, she kneeled in front of him instead, then plunged her chakra into his system, eyes unseeing.

Kimimaro moved a leg on either side of her. It reminded him of that time with the salve. It was nice.

He leaned against the wall, watching her face. Strange, how she made him feel. Perhaps it was what they call 'nervous', that was described as a quivering feeling. But it was pleasant. Tingled somewhere behind his solar plexus.

Different from Orochimaru, who gave him a feeling of… of what? He tried to place it, and discovered he couldn't even find, much less pinpoint it. He blinked several times. _Orochimaru. My teacher. My master._ Oh, there, in his gut. Something heavy. Respect. Fear. Sorrow at having caused disappointment.

And this girl… warmth in his chest, entirely separate from where her hands pressed. An interesting feeling.

Kimimaro felt her soft breathing fan out on his chin. Brought a hand up to her cheek, tucking the pink hair behind her ear. Everything soft. His other hand was at the base of her skull. He felt like doing something, something involving mouths…

She was withdrawing her chakra. Kimimaro sat back again.

Sakura looked with some surprise at their current position. _Well let's just hope Kabuto doesn't walk in._ Kimimaro looked at her, one hand making its way slowly up her arm.

She got up under the pretense of getting a pen and paper to start on some further notes. It was… too close. He was too unaware of the implications of what he was doing, he had no grasp of the meaning inherent in these motions. Touching, okay, she could handle it. But this… on a bed, no less... besides the fact that she rather liked it…

Not good.

Clearing the stool of its pile of books, Sakura perched upon it and began to write.

Kimimaro watched her from the bed. Sakura felt very self-conscious, aware of her legs showing, and her too-small shirt, too high-cut shorts.

"You should get some sleep, Kimimaro."

"I am not tired."

"It's midnight. You've been doing your lunges and kicks all day."

"I know."

"Kabuto is coming in at seven tomorrow. I told him you'll be ready to start training again."

"Mm."

"It'll be in the courtyard."

"Yes."

"He gave me permission to come out to watch, in case anything happens."

"Mm."

_A real conversationalist._ Sakura finished up her preliminary observations on his bone molding, then shut the notebook with a snap.

"Well _I'm_ going to sleep, even if you aren't."

"Mm."

Sakura took her time brushing her teeth, watching Kimimaro in the mirror. He was cracking his knuckles methodically. Sakura smiled around a mouthful of minty foam. Tsunade would go beserk, his joints popped and snapped worse than Sakura's did on a high-risk operation day.

She approached the bed, making a shoo-ing motion with her hands. "I'm going to bed."

"I know."

"You're sitting on it."

"I am."

Sakura laughed. "Me plus needing sleep equals bed. You need to get off."

Kimimaro considered her equation, looking at the bed. Sobering her expression, Sakura decided to cut things off now before he suggested that there was actually enough room for him to keep sitting there.

"Come on, off you go. Or you'll regret it tomorrow morning."

"I doubt it."

Sakura tilted her head at his tone. Kimimaro climbed off and headed for his own room. Their shoulders brushed as he passed.

Sakura turned off the lights a few moments later and got into bed. She could feel the warmer spot where he had been sitting.

It took her a long time to get to sleep.

VVVVVV

**A/N: **Hey… Kimimaro. Kimi_maro. _Maro. Marro. Marrow.

Teehee.

Long chapter, by my standards. Praise me. (grin)


	5. Chapter 5

VVVVVV

Under the blazing heat of an August midday sun, Kabuto and Kimimaro engaged in day five of training while Sakura watched.

Kimimaro relished the feel of fighting again, the sense of strength, the thrill of speed. Kabuto never went easy on him, insisting always on quicker responses, smoother evasions and tighter punch control. It was good to push himself once more, to clench his teeth and throw that extra weight behind a kick without fear of losing breath or irreparably damaging a lung. He had a medic on call after all, one who leapt up with a concerned look in her eyes every time Kabuto landed a particularly hard blow.

Kimimaro glanced at her in passing. Sakura was leaning against the wall in the shadow of the awning, doodling in the dust with a twig, evidently lost in thought. He watched as her expression went from neutral to angry when she glared at something on the ground and wondered vaguely what had caused this shift in emotion.

Kimimaro paid for his moment of inattention when Kabuto backhanded him on the jaw. He recollected himself, leaping a few feet back and fisting his hands.

He did not like Kabuto's fighting style. It lacked any sort of artistry, just a jumble of various disciplines merged together. A junk heap, a hybrid which had no grace or artistic quality. It was unimpressive to watch, but there was no doubt it was effective. Opponents were generally taken aback by Kabuto as there was no predictability, no specialization, no one unifying trait in his fighting other than "it's going to be whatever you don't expect it to be".

Kimimaro had fought with Kabuto enough to know his arsenal, more or less. In time – perhaps within a few weeks – Kimimaro knew that his own growing strength coupled with good health would make him the stronger of the two. And so he took these hits without rancor.

Indeed, it seemed Kabuto was the bitter one here, even if he was clearly on top during this particular fight. Kabuto was adding unnecessary force behind his blows and hissing gratuitous remarks from between his teeth.

A snicker almost caused Kimimaro to push out one of his swords, but he reabsorbed it as soon as he felt it passing between his radius and ulna. Kabuto had warned him not to use his bloodline limit yet – his body needed to learn how to fight again on its own, without the dependence on reflex action from his_ Shikotsumyaku_. Kimimaro was quite hard pressed at times to keep the layer of bone armor from forming under his skin, or, as in this case, to stop himself from creating the weapon that could end the fight now.

The two broke apart and paused for a moment to remove sweat-soaked clothing.

VVVVVV

Sakura glanced up when the usual scuffles and grunts ceased, watching the two peel off their tops. She decided to inform Kabuto that it had been four hours already – shouldn't they take a break?

"I think that's enough for today, Kabuto."

Kabuto glanced at her over his shoulder. "He can take more."

Sakura shot him a who's-the-better-medic-here-you-or-me look, but shrugged. "Fine. If you want to burn him out, go ahead. I'm sure Orochimaru will be thrilled."

Kimimaro had started off rather shakily, which was, in Sakura's opinion, completely understandable. Kabuto, however, seemed to think that Kimimaro needed to be battle-ready within a few days, and drilled him mercilessly. On top of that, Kabuto apparently found it necessary to make snide remarks every time Kimimaro was a little too slow with a block or unbalanced after a roundhouse. Sakura did not approve.

In order to take her mind off her growing ire at Kabuto, Sakura returned her thoughts to the 'S' which she had traced out in the dust at her feet. She contemplated it. _Sasuke... _

…_Where the hell are you?... _

Sakura frowned at the unresponsive 'S'. _Do you have any idea what I did for you? I brought Orochimaru's killing machine back to life. You had better have more than two words and a nod for me when we see each other again. After eight years. _

She poked at it with her twig. _I don't even know why I did it, really. Other than the fact that Orochimaru would have, you know, killed me if I refused. But he assumed I still love you. Hell, I assumed I still love you._

Her hand hovered over it. _But do I? No… not really. I care. I worry. It's different. It's been different since that night you knocked out that pathetic girl who thought the world of you. I hope you've grown to be less of an asshole than you were. A good-looking asshole, but an asshole nonetheless._

_Come back soon._

_Traitor._

Sakura passed her hand over the 'S', obliterating it. She determined to ask Kabuto more forcefully about Sasuke's current whereabouts and wellbeing later. This entire ordeal was weighing on her mind. Sasuke had to come back soon, while she was still there in Orochimaru's compound – that way she could explain the situation herself, could explain why she had healed Kimimaro in her own words.

Sakura didn't even want to think about how Orochimaru would relate that decision to Sasuke. Or whether he would at all – perhaps he'd simply omit this little detail and take Sasuke as his vessel without mention of Sakura's pact with him.

She raised her head when she heard Kabuto jeer about something. Kimimaro had his hands on his knees and was dry heaving.

Sakura rose angrily. "I _told_ you that was enough." Pushing past Kabuto, she knelt next to Kimimaro and threaded her chakra into him, stemming the flow of nausea. Kabuto moved to stand on the other side, looking irritated.

"If he can't withstand a training session, what good is he?"

Sakura stared, speechless for a moment. "What is _wrong_ with you? He just regained his ability to walk two weeks ago, and you expect him to take on back-to-back full sessions?"

Kabuto said nothing. Sakura added a vicious comment about him failing his follow-up care exam, "–and with _reason_, no patience whatsoever, too rushed, too…"

Kabuto turned away and motioned towards the passage to their rooms. "Enough for today. Heal him. We will continue tomorrow."

Kimimaro rose. Sakura could feel him trembling slightly. _Ugh. Exhaustion. And I'm going to have to take care of his lactic acid before it builds up and makes him unable to move tomorrow. Kabuto you are a perfect idiot._

Kimimaro gave Kabuto's back a baleful look while Sakura directed him back to his room, Sakura muttering about Kabuto's behavior all the way down the passage. Kimimaro gave no sign of agreement, making only a comment about him being the one at fault for showing weakness. Sakura rolled her eyes. Both men set standards which were beyond the capacity of any human body at this point.

She turned on the shower in his small bathroom, handing him a towel after assuring herself that he was not about to black out and drown while inside.

"I'll fix you up when you come back out. I'll be in the lab."

Kimimaro nodded, wiping sweat from his face with a forearm. Sakura felt a drop flick onto her and rubbed it off, wrinkling her nose. Kimimaro noticed. She failed to observe the ever-so-slight mischievous twist to his mouth.

The next thing she knew, Sakura had her face pressed to his chest in a sweaty one-armed hug. By the time she could make an indignant "mfff!", Kimimaro had already released her and entered the bathroom. She huffed, turning towards the laboratory. When he closed the door, Sakura allowed herself a smile, wiping her face on her shirt. The man had a strange, stunted sense of humor, but a sense of humor nonetheless.

VVVVVV

In the lab, Sakura tinkered with various apparatus. She had the idea of taking a closer look at the differences between the bones Kimimaro created, and those which were permanent parts of his skeleton. Doing this would require quite a bit of preparation in terms of slides, microscopes, and also the chemicals she'd be using to test various reactions.

Kabuto entered unannounced soon after. Sakura was still annoyed with him, and showed it by ignoring him completely. He returned the favor, saying nothing.

Sakura wrote a list of a few of the items she would need, outlining them in a neat hand. Kabuto leafed idly through some of his own notes in the binders nearby, pausing at one page. Sakura heard him rip out an entire section which he proceeded to shred methodically.

"Something I didn't need to know?"

"That's right."

Sakura took a glance at the spine of the binder, cataloguing the number in her mind for future reference. There was a chance she'd already read that one, but she would have to check. If she had, it would be very interesting to know which part Kabuto had deemed necessary to remove.

She decided to change the subject in the hope that he would leave the binder laying there.

"When is the last time you saw Sasuke?"

Kabuto considered her. "What brought this about?"

"Nothing. I just want to know."

Kabuto's fingers tapped an abstract rhythm on the countertop. "Hm. I suppose there isn't much you can do with that information. He was last here one year ago."

"I wanted to know…" Sakura fiddled with a test tube stand to divert Kabuto's attention from the binder "…what he's like now."

"Ah." Kabuto compacted his now illegible notes into a ball and shoved it into his pocket.

"So?"

"He's changed since his genin days."

Sakura looked up from her tubes. "Thank you for that brilliant flash of the obvious."

Kabuto crossed his arms and eyed Sakura over his glasses. "There's no need to be snarky. I don't have to tell you anything."

"Sorry", Sakura said in a tone which meant that she was not sorry at all. "So how has he changed?"

"Taller."

"… Amazing." Sakura was about to give up on learning anything interesting. Kabuto was being dense on purpose. She tried a different angle. "How has the seal affected him?"

"He has learned to control it, more or less."

"What about… his character?"

"I did not know him well when he was still a Leaf. I do not know how he was."

"Would you call him… nice?"

"No."

Sakura wasn't surprised. Even before the seal, Sasuke had hardly been 'nice'.

"Then what would you call him?"

"Ambitious."

"What else?"

"Power-hungry."

"And?"

"Violent."

"And?"

"Unbalanced."

_Sounds juuust peachy._ "I see."

Kabuto scratched his chin. "Ah… weren't you completely infatuated with him? I remember now."

Sakura shook her head. "I was young and stupid."

"So are you now?"

"What's it to you?"

"Curious."

"It's none of your business."

"Why else would you agree to spend two months trapped here to save him from being used?"

"Anyone in Konoha would have. A few months of this," Sakura motioned with her hands, indicating the three rooms that were her current habitat "is fine, compared to a lifetime as Orochimaru's vessel."

"Ah." Kabuto tilted his head. "We're going too easy on you, clearly. Perhaps I will ask Orochimaru to assign you another project or two."

Sakura bit her tongue. _No. No. No. _

"But what kind of project, I wonder? Something long-term."

Sakura noticed that Kabuto was making his way slowly towards her, fiddling with the fingerless gloves on his hands. Sakura recognized the same look in his eyes that he had had some weeks ago during another argument. Scribbling a hasty addition to the long list there, she shoved her piece of paper into his hands. "This is a list of some things I need. See that I get them. Please."

Sakura left the lab, slipping neatly past Kabuto to emerge at Kimimaro's bathroom door, demanding that he hurry it up a little in there.

Kabuto made his way out, carefully tucking her list into his shirt. She noticed him patting it before he exited with a little smile. Sakura watched him leave, impassive.

"What does he mean when he looks at you like that?"

Kimimaro's toneless voice startled Sakura out of her musings. She turned to find him looking at the door through which Kabuto had passed, damp hair framing his face and towel held at his waist.

"Looks at me like what?"

"You don't know what I'm talking about?"

_Yes._ "No."

"He looks at you like that often."

Sakura watched Kimimaro make his way towards a little pile of clean clothes. She wasn't sure what to say to this. "Oh." _Wow, his conversational skills are contagious._

She turned away from him when she realized he was not going to go back into the bathroom to change. _One day, I will introduce him to the concept of decorum. _After a few moments, the sound of soft material being fitted over a body was replaced by the small squeak of Kimimaro's bed when he sat on it.

Sakura sent her chakra to her hands. After every training session, she spent some time doing a little maintenance on Kimimaro's body. If Orochimaru wanted 'fighting fit', he was going to get it. Sakura never left a job half-done.

She fixed a few torn muscle fibers in his triceps, then dissolved toxin buildups in his system. Sakura tssked when she discovered some overly stretched ligaments in his shoulder.

"You should really be more careful. If I wasn't here this would have taken weeks to heal."

Kimimaro had his eyes half closed as she kneaded chakra into his shoulder with quick motions. "Mm."

"I'm going to ask Kabuto to take it easier on you. This is getting ridiculous."

Sakura passed her hand down Kimimaro's jaw line, erasing the rapidly-forming bruise there. He tilted his face into her hand as she did so, and Sakura watched as her platonic touch became a caress. She pulled away. A small part remained unhealed, there by his chin. She decided to let it heal by itself.

Kimimaro watched her actions, finally poking gingerly at the sore place. "You missed a spot."

Sakura could not very well _say_ "well I'm not doing it because I feel like some lecherous doctor taking advantage of a touch-starved patient," and so she lifted her eyebrows in feigned surprise. "Ah." She cupped his chin in her hand, brushing her healing thumb over the bruise while he watched her steadily.

"You do not like to touch me."

It was a statement, but it implied a question. Sakura sighed internally. She did not feel like embarking on a discussion of this sort. "It's just my job."

"You wouldn't otherwise."

"No."

Sakura watched Kimimaro's eyes lower to the floor. Her heart wrenched, and she regretted her dry reply. This poor man didn't deserve it. He was nothing but polite with her, even if the company he kept was less than desirable.

She brought her hand back to his face as a kind of unconscious apology. Kimimaro froze, blinking twice. Their eyes locked, and Sakura felt his cheek muscles move with what might have been the tiniest smile.

_You are the prettiest man I have ever seen. _

Sakura let her hand drop to her side. "I will be needing some bone samples from you for some tests I want to run."

Kimimaro seemed unwilling to drop the subject quite so fast, but nodded slowly.

"I just need a very small part of the bones you make – " Sakura hadn't even finished her sentence when Kimimaro did a modified version of the _Teshi Sengan_, "Ten Finger Bullets", dropping a perfectly formed distal phalange into her hand. She held the small white nodule between her fingers, unable to distinguish it from normal bone.

" – thank you, and I will also need a section of your real bones. I think somewhere in your forearm would be ideal for a sample, because I know you heal those especially fast."

Sakura watched Kimimaro consider his arm, certain that he would gladly cut it open and extract it himself if only he knew how. It was rather endearing, in a twisted nonsensical way.

"I'll do it now to get it out of the way. Kabuto will be back with the things I need soon."

Sakura swabbed the area she had chosen for her incision with alcohol and administered a few shots of local anesthetic. She rolled a practical surgical table over, resting his now desensitized arm onto a thick bed of clean absorbent cotton. Kimimaro watched with great interest when she opened his arm with a sure swipe of her scalpel, deepening the cut with successive strokes. Blood flowed freely, staining the cotton.

Seeing the white glint of his own radius amidst the reddish pink of muscle must have been quite an interesting experience for Kimimaro, judging by his expression. Sakura supposed he was so used to manipulating his skeleton internally that he hardly considered what it looked like. She shaved some slivers of bone off, collecting them carefully.

The bone began to heal itself as she watched. It was really quite an amazing process, it reformed itself in a pre-programmed fashion which would be the dream of many a medic to replicate. Sakura felt vaguely jealous.

Placing her hands on either side of the wound, Sakura knit the flesh back together. When she wiped the blood away, all that remained was one hair-thin white line, a false scar which would vanish within a few days.

She cleansed and put away her equipment while Kimimaro ran his fingers along the spot, marveling at it.

"Is it still numb? I might have left some traces of anesthetic in there."

"Yes."

Sakura dried her hands and asked, "You want me to remove it?"

"No."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "I like not being able to feel", Kimimaro offered by way of explanation.

"Oh, I see."_ Strange man._

"Because…" Kimimaro motioned, searching for words as though he had something important to say, "because then you can't feel hurt. And sorrow."

_Someone's getting his feelings and physical body mixed up again. _"It's only for your arm, Kimimaro. Not emotions."

Kimimaro paused. "Is it possible for... inside?"

Sakura shook her head. "No. And even if it was, I wouldn't do that to you."

"Why?"

"Because there are good things to feel too."

"It's not worth it."

"Hmph."

Sakura was careful to pack her anesthetic sachets away, carrying the box to the lab for safer storage. The last thing she needed was Kimimaro getting funny ideas.

VVVVVV

Kabuto arrived some moments later with the supplies Sakura had requested. She thanked him with a smile, holding the packages like a child with new toys.

A few hours later, Sakura was absorbed in her work in the laboratory. She had inserted thin shavings of bone into slides, while others had been left to soak in chemicals. She used fragments of some of her own bone – she had extracted them from her shin in an operation similar to that Kimimaro went through – as a control.

Now she observed these slides under the microscope, flicking from one to the other with an automatic hand. She jotted down observations occasionally, only stopping when she filled the thin notebook.

Sakura reached upwards in a stretch, cracking her neck. She made a note to herself to patent some system which didn't require leaning over to use a microscope. Stepping back, she bumped into something warm and solid. She inhaled sharply, withholding a shriek.

Sakura turned slowly to see Kimimaro looking over her shoulder at the microscope with some interest. _How long has he been there!_

"Kimimaro. You scared me. Make some noise next time."

"I apologize. You seemed occupied." Kimimaro pointed to a discarded slide. "Is this how you see my bone?"

"Well… just poke me or something next time." Sakura willed her heart to slow down. "This contains a tiny, thinly sliced fragment of your bone, yes." She held the slide up to the light between them, pointing at a minuscule speck amidst the transparent glass. "You see it there?"

Sakura snapped it in place onto the microscope and leaned in to adjust the focus. "And then, using this, I can look at it on the cellular level and compare it with your permanent skeletal bones, and my own."

Sakura felt him lean in above her shoulder. _Convention would suggest that you wait for me to move before taking a look, honey. _She slid sideways slightly, but found her progress halted by his hand on the workbench. Kimimaro bent over, casting a glance into the eyepiece. It did not seem to hold quite the same fascination for him as for Sakura, however, and he pulled back with a detached look.

The warmth of his body behind her was making Sakura rather nervous, not to mention too hot. Inner Sakura was not helping matters with her remarks – '_Well isn't this cozy! Let's lean back a little.'_

Making a show of finding her box of cover slips empty, Sakura barged through Kimimaro's arm 'barrier' towards a shelf. He followed, casting mildly interested looks at the equipment which lay in organized rows on the counters.

"Tell me about the good feelings."

Sakura resisted the urge to rub her temples. She seemed to have become some sort of surrogate mother/sister/source of physical comfort/professor/psychologist over the course of this affair. _And perhaps object of attraction?_ Inner Sakura nudged. Sakura pulled a new box of slides out rather violently.

"They're nice."

Sakura felt rather than heard the unimpressed puff of breath Kimimaro exhaled. _Too close. Always too close._

She turned, intent on giving him a lesson about personal space – but when she saw the look in those green eyes, she could not.

_Vulnerable._

Kimimaro was truly a wonder. Here was a man whose bloodline limit would make him virtually indestructible at full health, a man whose entire life had been focused on killing and his own oncoming death by disease, and yet… he was completely unshielded to any verbal attack she might chose to make at this precise moment. Sakura swallowed her waspish retort, replacing it with an inadequate "…and stuff."

Kimimaro stood too near, but was completely unaware of it. Sakura looked for a means of escape which would not involve slicing his battered spirit into shreds with her sharp tongue. She watched him wait for her to elaborate. _I do not feel like launching into a philosophical discussion of – ugh – feelings right now._

"You need to find out for yourself. I can't describe them in words." Sakura gave him a rueful smile. "I'm no poet."

Kimimaro took in a breath, looking like he was about to say something. He apparently thought better of it, however, and merely nodded. He lifted the arm Sakura had operated on earlier. Their eyes rested on the thin white line. "Can you remove it?"

"The scar? Oh, it'll disappear in a few –"

"No. I mean the rest of the anesthetic."

Sakura blinked, wrong-footed. "Ah… yes, of course."

They headed towards Kimimaro's room. Once there, Sakura applied gentle pressure to Kimimaro's forearm, dissolving the remainder of the anesthetic away carefully. Kimimaro extended the arm, flexing his fingers and rotating his wrist, sensations flowing once again.

"You were right."

Sakura slid her eyes away from where she had been watching his mannerisms. "About?"

"It is better to feel."

VVVVVV

**A/N: **I'm new to this fanfiction gig, but I believe I have an affinity for the thing called "fluff". Forgive me. I'm just a happy person. You want Very Serious stories with Very Sad, Profound and Dramatic plotlines, go somewhere else.

Google needs more Kimimaro pics.

Sasuke makes an appearance in the next chap.

Thank you all for the kind reviews, I appreciate it more than you know. Especially those longer than two words. (broad, conspicuous wink)


	6. Chapter 6

VVVVVV

Late that night, Sakura made her way back into the lab, intent on salvaging the remainder of the binder which Kabuto had torn. She passed Kimimaro's bed as silently as possible, finally reaching the laboratory door.

Once inside she did not turn on the light, merely feeling her way over to the collection of notes. The binder was still there, exactly as Kabuto had left it. She allowed herself a smirk – leaving her with this had been a mistake. She would be able to determine what had been removed either by looking at the content of the rest of the pages, or, in the case that she had already read it, simply recalling what had been there. Kabuto was underestimating her.

Sakura lifted the binder and headed out. She was careful not to trip on any of the wires crisscrossing the floor in Kimimaro's room – _must ask Kabuto to get rid of these, the monitoring system isn't necessary any more._

By the light of the screens, she saw a particularly thick cable which her foot was about to catch. She skirted.

As she made to move, a blade pressed against her throat from behind. It slid when Sakura gave a reflexive jerk and she felt the sting of a cut. Her heart pounded. She smelled something soapy with a tinge of the antiseptic hospital scent. _Kimimaro. _

"Kimimaro. It's just me." Sakura's voice was a whisper, throat constricted by nerves._ Oops. Should have known better than to sneak around his room._

Kimimaro released her at the same time as she spoke, having recognized her as soon as he felt the small form against him.

Sakura flipped on the lights. "Sorry about that." She gave a shaky laugh. "I… needed these notes and I didn't want to disturb you." _Oh yes. I'm smooth. _

She watched his eyebrows contract minutely when he looked at her neck.

"I hurt you."

Kimimaro looked alarmed, dropping his bone dagger when a thin stream of blood left a red trail on Sakura's smooth skin.

Sakura shook her head, intent on placating him before he did something stupid. His look was one of strong dismay.

"It was my fault. And anyways –" she passed a hand over her neck, sealing the cut – "it didn't hurt."

Kimimaro did something stupid anyway, wiping the trickle of blood away firmly with his thumb. "I am sorry." He let his hand linger. Sakura felt the coolness of the fingers on her collarbone. They made their way up her neck slowly, gently.

"It's fine" Sakura cleared her throat – it felt rather tight – and hefted the binder up. "I'd better go do my reading."

He dropped his hand. "Mm."

Sakura reached her own room, heading towards the desk. She sensed his presence there, leaning against the doorframe which separated their quarters. The ghosts of his touches lingered on her neck.

Shaking her head to clear it, Sakura flipped the binder open. Kimimaro was not leaving. After a few minutes of pretending to read, Sakura figured that Kimimaro was waiting for an invitation to come in which she was not willing to extend. She opened her mouth to tell him to get some rest, but he interrupted before she could formulate her sentence.

"What are you reading about?"

_I'm actually trying to find out what Kabuto is trying to hide from me. Now go away._ "Ah… just some things on…" Sakura glanced at a word at random on the page "licks."

…_Licks? What the hell? _Sakura stared at the sentence. _"Licks do not create the same effect as bites."_

In the doorway, Kimimaro's eyebrows rose. "I see."

Sakura scanned the remainder of the paragraph. …_the hell is going on here… oh, OH. Right. I got it._

"… and their relation to curse seals." She finished. Apparently some sub-forms of the seals could theoretically be formed by licking the neck instead of puncturing it with teeth.

"Oh."

Sakura flipped the pages, reading through quickly. So that was it. Kabuto had removed a largish chunk relating to seals – the heaven and earth seals in particular. The earth seal was the one Kimimaro had had. And the heaven was… Sasuke's. Sakura frowned, trying to piece together what she remembered about them. She knew their power levels were greater than the other seals. But what else… rubbing her temples, Sakura wished she had paid more attention when reading this particular volume.

She wondered if she could risk asking Kimimaro about them. Would he be suspicious? Would he think she was somehow trying to get information to use against Orochimaru? Would he even know anything at all? Would he tell Kabuto that she had asked about this?

No… no, he probably would not tell Kabuto. Kimimaro's relation with Kabuto had been rather strained as of late. They rarely spoke, and when they did it was Kabuto who did the talking – generally some training tip delivered with a patronizing air.

Sakura decided to go ahead and ask. Any tidbit he dropped could potentially be of great importance to her, especially in determining the actions of Orochimaru.

She pivoted on her stool, a false pensive look on her face. "Kimimaro… can you tell me a little about your seal? These notes are incomplete."

Kimimaro cocked his head to the side from his position at the door. She certainly hadn't expected him to see through her little façade. _More perceptive than I thought._

"Incomplete?" Kimimaro approached, eyes on the binder. He pulled it out of her hand, flipping it open. Sakura watched him turn the pages, face expressionless. He arrived at the missing section. A small scrap of paper fluttered out from the spine.

"I do not think they are incomplete. They have been torn out."

_Yes, yes, good job Sherlock. _"Oh?"

"But you know this."

"Well I –"

"What did you want to know?"

Sakura felt flustered and embarrassed. On top of this, she did not exactly _know_ what it was she wanted to know. She couldn't ask 'anything that'll help me figure Orochimaru out' to Kimimaro.

"Ah… do you remember when your seal was removed?"

"No. I was unconscious."

"Do you know why they removed it?"

"Yes…"

"Why?"

Kimimaro made no reply. Sakura grimaced. "Well can you tell me anything about the heaven seal?"

He studied her. "No."

"Can't, or won't?"

"Won't."

Sakura nodded with a wry smile. So Kimimaro wasn't going to be cooperating with her information gathering. She would find other ways. "I see."

He rubbed unconsciously at his chest, passing a palm below his collarbone where his own seal had been. Sakura watched him lose himself in meditative musings, his eyes raised to the ceiling.

While she put away the notes, Sakura's hand brushed his. Kimimaro snapped out of his reverie and turned to her. After a pause – where he traced her hand from fingertips to wrist – he spoke. "There are six seals that I know of. The Sound Four had water, wind, fire and thunder." As he enumerated them, he pressed each of her knuckles.

He continued. "There are two others, stronger in power and more difficult to survive and control. Two have received the heaven – the Uchiha and the one called Mitarashi Anko. I had received the earth."

He touched the smooth skin which had once been blemished by the mark. "They are called 'sister' seals: the cursed seal of earth and the cursed seal of heaven… and they are equal in power."

Sakura nodded slowly, hoping he would go on. Kimimaro did not, however. "That is all I will tell you."

She was slightly disappointed, but thankful for this information nonetheless. Something to mull over in the dark hours of the night.

Kimimaro made his way to his own quarters after a parting caress on her arm. Sakura followed, pulling the door between their rooms softly shut.

VVVVVV

Sakura was now counting down the days until her departure. She figured on perhaps two weeks before Kimimaro reached an acceptable level of fighting prowess and good health. Then Orochimaru would be satisfied and she would be free to leave.

Or so the theory went.

Neither Kabuto nor Orochimaru showed signs of noticing the fact that Kimimaro was not going to need her for much longer. Kimimaro was now emerging from training with Kabuto more or less unscathed, and Sakura provided only the most elementary healing on small cuts and bruises. His progress was astronomical. Sakura felt that if she had bothered to chart it from the day she began working on him, she would find herself looking at an exponential improvement curve swooping sharply upwards.

Sakura leaned against the wall in her customary place in the courtyard while the two men trained, shielding her eyes from the glare of the summer sun. She determined request another meeting with Orochimaru soon.

She wandered around the corner after a sidelong glance at Kabuto. Her experience in the compound was limited to this inner courtyard area, the hallway to her quarters and Kimimaro's ward, and finally the rooms themselves, and she had never had good opportunities to carry out a little "exploring".

Kabuto seemed thoroughly occupied, barely holding his own against an onslaught from Kimimaro, and so Sakura walked with a nonchalant air past the wall. If Kabuto caught her, it wasn't like she was doing any harm anyways, right? She convinced herself that this was the case. There was nowhere to go anyway – the entire base was surrounded by barrier jutsus far too complex for Sakura to extricate herself from. Sakura slipped around the corner. She did not detect Kimimaro's glance as he followed her departure with his eyes.

Another outside area opened up before Sakura, larger than that where Kabuto and Kimimaro held their training. A door was visible at the base of the wall. Sakura did not approach it, wary of potentially lethal traps.

She could see the tops of trees poking over the wall, rustling cheerfully in the breeze. Sakura did not recognize them by shape or color – they looked darker than those typical of Konoha, and leafier too. She supposed it would have been stupid to assume that this compound was located in Fire Country anyway, Orochimaru was not _that_ confident in his camouflage and secrecy jutsus.

Her eyes moved to the walls, then to two smallish watchtowers. There were no sentinels or guards visible. She wondered if there was even another human presence in the compound other than herself, Kimimaro, Kabuto, and occasionally Orochimaru. Perhaps there was a holding area somewhere for the pitiful recipients of Orochimaru's experiments.

Sakura ventured nearer to one of the high walls, looking upwards at a branch waving at her happily from several dozen feet in the air.

VVVVVV

Sasuke slowed his rush through the trees as a twinge from his seal told him that he was approaching the Sound base. To all appearances, the area ahead of him was simply more trees, rustling slightly. It was a skillful use of genjutsu, one which replicated everything from bark texture to sounds to a few sparrows fighting over a beetle.

This was the beauty of Orochimaru's base – you could be in it, walking through the innermost areas, and not know it. Only those of extreme sensitivity to genjutsu might detect it, and even then it would only be a vague blur, a suspicion. Another option would be eyesight which could see 'underneath the underneath' – Byakugan or the Sharingan, if they were honed enough.

Sasuke activated his Sharingan and began the process of not just looking but _seeing._ He had to 'disbelieve' or 'unbelieve' what his eyes were telling him, focusing instead on what his mind knew was there.

The false trees vanished slowly, merging together to make a wall. A shadow on the ground elongated and rose to form the door. He blinked and Orochimaru's headquarters rose above him once more.

It had been a while – a year, perhaps? He did not know. Didn't particularly care either. Months spent killing and maiming in a constant search for more power, still more power – they all merged into one vague chunk of memory, not particularly worthy of reflection.

Sasuke took a moment to thread his chakra into the surrounding area. Orochimaru's security devices were programmed to ignore the combination of his chakra signature and the seal.

A leap took him to the top of the wall, where he perched to survey the compound before entering. All was quiet.

Movement there. What was this? A little pink haired woman wandering about the courtyard?

Sasuke squatted, peering down with Sharingan-enhanced vision. Wasn't that… that girl from years ago? The one who had been on his team? No, it couldn't be. Must be some trick of Orochimaru's, some mockery of Sasuke's 'bonds', otherwise some test. He looked for the tell-tale signs of a body-double jutsu, or of a replication – but no, she did not waver in and out of reality under the scrutiny of his Sharingan. The real thing. Interesting.

Whatever Orochimaru was thinking, bringing this girl here… Sasuke's lips twitched. He would be quick to show Orochimaru that attempts to catch him off guard with the remnants of a past life would be fruitless. Those ties had long since decayed, frayed and torn by his ambition.

And he did not regret.

He moved in with the easy push of his feet against the wall-top.

VVVVVV

Sakura passed a hand along the dusty wall, feeling the threads of dozens of intricate protective and defensive jutsus pulsing through it. Orochimaru's skills were certainly impressive. Trying to unpuzzle this would be a decade-long affair. There were so many levels here, so many possible triggers, and with them hundreds of potential reactions, from simply alarms to – yes, she felt it there – myriads of illusionary devices. Sakura was glad that in the first few weeks of her capture, she had not been stupid enough to attempt an escape. It would have been the last thing she had ever done.

She heard the soft thud of somebody landing behind her. Sakura's first thought was to launch into a babbling, incoherent explanation as to what she was doing, and emphasize strongly that Kabuto was just around the corner and that she was certainly not trying to escape under any circumstance.

She stopped, however, when she turned and saw a man with a strangely familiar stance – arms crossed, head tilted, expressionless.

"Sakura."

She was careful to keep the disbelief in her face to a minimum, heart hammering as her head reeled. _Sasuke._

"I did not expect to see you here." The voice had matured, deeper and more devoid of emotion than ever.

Sakura said nothing, taking in the appearance of one of Konoha's most famed missing nin. Sasuke was taller, thinner. The soft contours of his face had filled out into harder lines, bisected by sunken cheeks and dark patches of one who does not sleep peacefully.

And the eyes… there was nothing human in those eyes. As a boy they were cold and confused, those of a lost child – now they were empty, burning empty. Sakura felt her mouth go dry. Sasuke's precious fragment of humanity had been consumed entirely. This did not bode well.

"Have you, too, fallen to the temptation of Sound?"

"No", Sakura said forcefully, snapping back to reality. "Never. I am here to finish a deal with Orochimaru." Sakura shifted to face Sasuke fully, unconsciously taking a more defensive stance. Waves of his hostility made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.

"A deal with Orochimaru. You." He made a 'tch' sound. "Who would have thought."

Sakura's eyes hardened. _Of all the ungrateful wretches. _"It was not for my benefit."

"Oh? Then whose?"

"Yours."

"Mine." Sasuke snorted in disdain. "I can hardly see myself needing any sort of help from you."

Sakura recoiled at the asperity of his tone. Surely… surely this could not be the same Sasuke.

"So tell me more about what this deal entailed."

"It was to prevent your being used as a vessel."

She clenched her teeth when he chuckled. "How thoughtful."

Sakura was at a loss. In all the scenarios she had imagined relating to when she saw Sasuke again, she had never considered that she might have difficulty determining whether he was friend or enemy.

She was struck by a sudden thought – could it be that this was already _not_ Sasuke, but Orochimaru in Sasuke's body? Had he broken the deal? This was the only plausible explanation for his behavior, wasn't it?

"Orochimaru… you bastard."

Sasuke exhaled an amused huff when he understood the implication. "No. I am still myself, Sakura. For the time being."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know what your little… bargain with Orochimaru involved, but it might all have been for nothing."

Sakura's eyes narrowed. "Meaning?"

"Orochimaru in my body will create an unstoppable combination."

"I see. So you still haven't killed your brother."

A pause. "No. I haven't."

"You would give your body to that… to that filth..."

"If I determine that I must."

"But I wanted to save you, I – "

"I hardly care. What is it you had to do? Heal his arms? Act as a slave to his every perverted fancy? Stupid girl."

Sakura shook her head, ire growing. "You are not the Sasuke I knew."

"You hardly knew me."

"I knew enough. Sasuke had a shred of humanity. You… whoever you are… have none."

"Hn." He cocked his head to the side. "You, however, have not changed. You're still irritating. And naïve."

Sakura said nothing, bitterness constricting her throat.

A feverish light filled the black eyes. "But I wonder… is your presence here some sort of test? Does Orochimaru want to see what I do with my old bonds?"

Sakura felt a rush of his chakra as he focused it on his hand. "I will be glad to show him once again, that I have no qualms in – "

Sakura watched Sasuke create a strange form of the chidori and raise it level with her head. Disbelief flooded through her. No. No, this had to be some sort of nightmare – Sasuke would never hurt her. Would never… kill… her…?

One look in the suddenly crimson eyes behind the crackling mass of energy told her that he would. He was lost to his own mania, obsession having overcome rationality.

Sakura's instincts took over, she crouched defensively and began to form a chakra shield as he lunged.

She braced for an impact which never came. Sasuke was face-down on the floor at her feet, knocked violently off-balance by a figure in white.

Sasuke got up slowly, turning to find Kimimaro watching him impassively.

He gave a disbelieving snort, nonplussed. "Kaguya."

"Uchiha."

Their eyes locked. Sakura's body gave a convulsive shudder at the death intent which radiated where angry red met intense green. Orochimaru's two most prized ninja looked ready to slaughter each other.

"I thought you would be long dead by now."

"Orochimaru decided it would be a waste to lose my bloodline."

"Mm." Sasuke smirked malevolently. "Still bitter because you aren't the next vessel?"

"I have moved on."

Sakura felt a ringing in her ears. _Well that's that. I fell for Orochimaru's little ploy with marvelous ease. Amazing, really. He might have had the decency to mention that Sasuke was more than willing to be his vessel when we made our deal... goddamn it._

"I thought your disease was incurable."

"One medic was able to heal me."

"I see that. Kabuto?"

Kimimaro inclined his head towards Sakura. She felt Sasuke's attention focused once more on herself, and met his eyes with a steady glower. Inner Sakura clamored for some serious ass-kicking – master moves directed at Sakura being a _serious_ offence – but was muffled when he spoke again.

"Hn. How sweet." Sasuke made to move towards Sakura, but halted when the sound of Kimimaro pushing out a bone sword echoed softly throughout the courtyard. He stopped and the two locked stares once again – Sasuke reforming his chidori while Kimimaro twirled his sword with an indifferent look.

"So that's why you interfered. Found someone else to cling to now that you're not the favorite."

"Don't touch her."

"Is somebody getting a little possessive?"

"Orochimaru does not want her dead."

"He doesn't want you dead either. So put away your pointy stick, Kaguya."

Kimimaro gave a smirk of his own, the first Sakura had seen on his usually expressionless features. A chill coursed down her spine. "That chidori is useless against me. You know you haven't my speed or my dexterity."

Sasuke's jaw clenched. "Let's find out."

They never did find out. Kabuto's arrival between the two disrupted the launch of what Sakura was sure would have been quite the epic battle. Two survivors of prized bloodlines, two prodigies, two killing machines and the seals of heaven and earth.

Kabuto dropped the katana he was carrying – Sakura assumed he had gone to fetch it before Sasuke's arrival, which would explain Kimimaro there on his own – and gave the two men an angry glare.

He turned to Sakura, motioning towards her quarters. "Return to your room."

Sakura was displeased at being so easily dismissed, but the look on Kabuto's face made her decide not to argue.

VVVVVV

Later that night, Sakura tossed and turned with irritated twists, unable to sleep. Her brain worked continuously, turning newly-uncovered facts over and over. She berated herself for not having considered the fact that Sasuke might _want_ to be a vessel. She who was so careful to look at all possibilities, so careful to consider every option… But even if she had thought of this, she hadn't had a choice anyway. This was some source of comfort, at least – her own naivety in believing Orochimaru was balanced by the fact that he would have killed her if she hadn't accepted to fulfill the terms of his bargain.

And Sasuke himself had wanted to kill her. Unprovoked. A completely unjustified attack, save for whatever reasoning his distorted mind had fabricated. Something about a test, bonds… insane. The man had lost his mind. She made a note to inform Kabuto that she agreed one hundred percent with his previous assessment of Sasuke: ambitious, power-hungry, violent and… what was the last one? Unbalanced. Oh yes. That was putting it mildly.

Sitting up in her small cot, Sakura held her head in her hands. _I am surrounded by psychopaths._

And now the truth was out. Kabuto had looked so angry back in the courtyard – Sakura now knew that the entire scheme had been a façade. She had, in effect, healed Kimimaro for 'free'. What would happen now? The best case scenario at this stage would be for them to allow her to leave unscathed, carrying only the bitter taste of trickery with her. But now she had so much information – about Orochimaru's base, the seals, Kabuto, Kimimaro, on Sasuke's whereabouts and condition…

Rubbing her temples, Sakura mused that knowledge could be quite a burden. Would they kill her rather than allow her to leave? Or attempt some memory-modifying jutsu?

Sakura bent to retrieve her pillow (which had been knocked off by an especially enthusiastic twist) and gazed at the dark opening on the opposite wall. Kimimaro had not returned to his room.

She felt oddly bereft, alone with the occasionally blinking monitors. Monitors which had long since fallen into disuse, receptors no longer sensing his chakra signature. Because he didn't need them any more. Just like he wouldn't need her any more, soon enough.

Sakura supposed she was being silly and melodramatic. So he wasn't in his room, big deal. He was a Sound nin after all. And as such he could wander about as he pleased and probably exit the compound without a second thought. A Sound nin. She repeated this to herself in an attempt to deny the fact that she was missing his presence.

But he was… well, he was the closest thing to a friend which she had here. A constant.

Sakura got up and stretched, giving up on sleep. She straightened her notes, folded some clothes. Did some crunches on the floor while watching the clock shift slowly from 12:32 to 12:56. She brushed her teeth for the second time that night, then redid her braid.

Her aimless steps lead her to Kimimaro's room, where she leaned on the doorframe like he had so many times before. _Alright, I admit it. He's grown on me. Kinda crazy, touchy-feely, but…_

She moved into the familiar space, noting in passing that Kimimaro hadn't taken his supplements that morning. The pills lay on the shelf where she had deposited them in a neat line, with a glass of water beside. She would have to scold him with loud complaints about his B12 levels. And then he would look vaguely contrite and emit a toneless "I will take them now" while his knuckles stroked her cheek. And she would be easily placated, and then she would find some excuse to move away before she succumbed to the urge to return his touches. As usual.

Sakura halted at the hastily-made bed. He never did make it properly. Her thoughts wandered back to her current situation as she sat on the rumpled sheets. Perhaps it would be a good idea to pack her scarce belongings and take the aggressive route: bitch at Kabuto for having once again betrayed her too easily-given trust, shove his notes back into his hands (complete with corrections in red) and demand that the gate be opened.

She leaned back on the antiseptic-scented pillow. Or maybe she should be more submissive, humbly requesting freedom while emphasizing that she would gladly concede to whatever memory modifying jutsus Orochimaru felt would be necessary for her to not pose a risk…

Or perhaps Orochimaru would simply wander over and kill her while lamenting the blow which the loss of her skill was to the medical world. She could imagine him doing that altogether too easily.

Sleep overcame her. She wriggled into a more comfortable position, determined to plan reactions to these potential scenarios in a few hours. Things always looked brighter in the morning. With a wide yawn, Sakura burrowed her face into the clean-smelling pillow, having quite forgotten that it was not actually hers.

VVVVVV

**A/N: **Did the last chapter slay you with its overwhelming levels of cheesiness? Ha ha. I am not sorry.

I read the manga for the first time last night, particularly Kimimaro's scenes. I should have done this ages ago because it let me have way more insight into his character. In the manga he's almost cocky, all "behold! Dance of the Willows! I pop your clones!" I hadn't seen this angle at all from just watching the anime so now my Kimi seems far too quiet and passive. He needs more assertion/self confidence. I'll try to work on it, but I don't really want a massive switch/jump in character at this point, either.

He's also got a sense of honor (?), holding back from an attack to let Lee take his meds. Aw.

The names of the other cursed seals that Kimimaro listed at the beginning are not canon. We don't get their names, but it's likely that they are named after the Bagua concept, where elements are related to personality types, directions and symbolism. And just FYI, the heaven meaning is of "expansive energy", whereas the earth is one of "receptive energy". Oooh.

I want to thank Tsukashi (who is a brilliant writer, go read her ItaSaku immediately!) for sending me a bunch of Kimi screenshots! I have never felt so inspired.


	7. Chapter 7

VVVVVV

Kimimaro entered his darkened quarters with his usual quiet grace, casting a cursory glance into Sakura's room through the open door. All was dark and still. He supposed she was asleep. Her rest would be troubled by the day's events. Would she be angry?

He reached to clip off his footwear. Would she regret having healed him?

Kimimaro found himself tempted to awaken her and try to explain that he would never have let Kabuto and Orochimaru carry out this scheme, had he been conscious when it was implemented in the first place. Deception went against his sense of personal honor. He would have preferred upfront threats to her life to this underhanded tactic. But when this entire machination had been put underway, Kimimaro had been near-comatose and not in any condition to understand – much less object to – such a plan. He had been presented with a _fait accompli_, a done deed, upon wakening.

Kimimaro paused at the door between their rooms, running a hand through his hair in frustration. She would probably not take kindly to being awaken in the middle of the night by an agitated man explaining that everything wasn't really his fault.

Kimimaro took a step inside her room, but withdrew. No. It could wait until morning at least. He made his way towards his small bathroom, bumping a shelf in the dark. The rattle of pills there reminded him that he had neglected to take his supplements again. He swiped them into his palm, downing them with the lukewarm water. She wouldn't notice, he was sure. As long as they were gone before she replaced them with new ones in the morning, he was safe from her ire. The ire which made her pout in such a captivating manner.

In the bathroom he switched on the light and brushed his teeth, undoing the fastenings on his hair with one hand. As for the Uchiha… Kimimaro spat and rinsed, his motions becoming more vehement.

When Kabuto had gone to retrieve a katana for himself (Kimimaro being able to make his own weapons without problem), Kimimaro had felt the flare of Sasuke's chakra. He had turned the corner to see the Uchiha advancing with his chidori powered up, aimed directly at Sakura. She had managed to create a shimmering mesh in front of her – some sort of shield? He would have to ask about that – and was backing up, bracing for the hit.

He had decided on a clean double-kick at the Uchiha's back instead of a more satisfying thrust through the spine with his sword. But it had been a close thing.

Kimimaro hadn't felt such a rush of enmity in years – he generally had no feelings for the recipients of his blows. But seeing her… her with her small figure tightened for impact, with confused anger in her eyes and only an odd glimmer between her hands for protection… he remembered the convulsive tightening in his chest, and now he could give it a name. Fear. Not for himself, but for her… to lose her…

It was a shame, really, that Kabuto had arrived in time to stave off a fight. It would have been Kimimaro's pleasure to beat the daylights out of the Uchiha.

But how Kabuto had lectured them in the courtyard after Sakura had made her slow way to her room. Sasuke had gotten the brunt of it for having been far too liberal with his information, and for attacking a 'guest' of Orochimaru's on sight. Kabuto made it exceedingly clear that Sakura was off-limits, for the moment at least. As long as she held some use for Orochimaru, Sasuke needed to keep his little vendetta in check.

Kimimaro had received a tirade on the pitifulness of his jealousy that Sasuke would be the next vessel. He had not bothered to correct Kabuto on this point. Kabuto could believe what he wanted. He always had.

Kimimaro's dream of being a vessel had been quashed eight years ago. Kimimaro was not one to cling to foolish hopes for long. He had long since settled on simply living and serving Orochimaru.

And as of late, on simply living…

Kimimaro pressed his forehead to the cool mirror. Kabuto had sent him off to train on his own with a gesture towards the woods. Kimimaro had watched from the wall-top as Kabuto had then brought Sasuke indoors. To Orochimaru? He did not know. He could no longer sense Orochimaru's presence due to the absence of the seal.

He had lingered a long time around the compound, engaging in some lackluster training involving his bone-bullets and falling leaves. It had disturbed him to leave Sakura there, in the same building as the Uchiha. He knew that Kabuto was highly competent and wouldn't allow Sasuke to go on a rampage, but… it would have been easier on Kimimaro if he had been there instead.

It was all over now, however. She was next door, safe. He made his way towards the bed. Tomorrow she would wake up and question him, angry and hurt. Perhaps he would quiet her with touches, she was more easily distracted by those as of late. And then he would explain and hope she would understand his limited role in this affair.

Sakura would want to leave, he was certain of it. As far as he knew, Orochimaru had no further plans for her. And as he was nearly fully healed himself, the services she provided were of the most basic sort. His bloodline-enhanced recovery rate could probably take care of the training wounds within a few hours, she merely sped up the process.

He could only hope that they would let her leave in peace. It was the best he could wish for – that Kabuto and Orochimaru would allow her to depart with all limbs attached and… and, if possible, her memory intact. So that she would remember…

If they decided to dispose of her, he did not know what he would do. There was a time – a distant, far simpler time, it seemed – when any decision of Orochimaru's would have been automatically right. Unquestionable.

But now things had become complicated, new layers were formed where there was once stark certainty. Kimimaro would have qualified these developments as troublesome, save for the fact that they added entirely new dimensions to his existence. A pleasant sort of depth, a fullness. New flavors, new feelings…

And no matter which way he looked at it, it all came back to her.

He felt for his sheets in the dark room, finally finding the edge somewhat lower than where he thought it would be. Clearly he had tidied the bed up worse than usual this morning. He hoisted himself on with a light push.

The feel of a warm body giving a squirm underneath him caused Kimimaro to pull back up in surprise.

VVVVVV

Sakura was pulled from slumber by the feel of her body being pressured into the mattress. She twisted rapidly, opening her eyes as alertness seeped into the sleepy jumble of her brain. Her first thought was that Orochimaru was here to end it all, and chakra flooded through her system as she prepared to sell her life dearly.

When she focused enough on her surroundings, however, all she saw was Kimimaro sitting on her knees, a look of bewilderment barely visible on his face in the dark.

They stared at each other for a few moments. Sakura finally recovered enough from her surprise to ask what on earth he thought he was doing.

Kimimaro blinked at her. "This is my bed."

Sakura blinked back, then cast a glance around the room in what she hoped was a discreet manner. Cables, surgical table, unused IV stand, door to the lab…_Oh dear. _She opened and closed her mouth, feeling excessively dense. Had she honestly fallen asleep in his bed? How utterly embarrassing. "I uh… you should always check the bed before lying down."

Kimimaro raised his brows. "I… will remember that." He shifted his weight as he leaned in a little closer, studying her face in the dark. "What are you doing here?"

She squirmed to pull out her legs, but Kimimaro did not move to facilitate the process. "I was just tired. Wandering around, you know."

"Oh."

"Yes."

He appeared to be considering this. Sakura lifted herself into a sitting position, heart beating fast. The way he looked at her, so intensely… His pale hair was out of the usual red ties, falling neatly on either side of his face. If she had been a weaker woman, Sakura would have passed her hand through it to feel the softness there.

He slid off of her legs to lie beside her. Her heart thudded.

"Well. I guess I will be going now." Sakura extricated herself from the sheets with some difficulty, finally pulling out and landing on the floor in a heap._ Right on. Suave. _

Standing with as much dignity as she could muster, she smoothed down her clothes and said goodnight.

Kimimaro caught her wrist as she turned to leave. "Stay."

Sakura felt her breath catch at the earnestness in his voice, in his eyes. She studied the floor to keep fluttering emotions in check. "I don't think so, Kimimaro–"

"Just for a while. Lie with me."

His hand moved to grasp her elbow. "Please."

Inner Sakura exploded in a fit of excitement.

Sakura felt as though the bones in her body had turned to mush. He was so attractive… and the look he gave her when she settled next to him, and the light in his eyes… and the feel of his mouth smiling against her neck when he moved closer, so that their bodies touched…

VVVVVV

Kimimaro felt positively light-headed at the moment she turned slowly and lifted her warm self to lie there next to him. He did not remember ever having felt this… this delight, this bliss… she charmed him in every way, from the tousled hair to the smooth calf which touched his shin somewhere under the sheets. In this moment, nothing else mattered.

She met his eyes and lifted her mouth in a hesitant smile. And all he wanted to do was touch and hold and breathe her. The blood in his veins seemed to have been replaced by something else, something infinitely more precious coursed through his system. It made him want to laugh and weep at the same time, this surge of emotion.

She drifted off to sleep eventually, after halting his hand's exploratory caresses on her hip. He did not mind. Just to be able to look, to feel someone there with him… someone who was, suddenly – or had it taken longer? Had it not been months? – a very important person…

Kimimaro studied her late into the night, cherishing every brush of skin on skin, every moment of shared warmth. He dozed off with his face in the crook of her neck, nose and mouth brushing it ever so slightly.

VVVVVV

**A/N:** Close contact such as that during this scene would have been near-bliss for Kimimaro (well, my Kimimaro at least). Tried to reproduce that effect/intensity, as well as developing the significant gap between what he thinks/feels and what he actually voices.

Just a note on spelling. I've seen Kimimaro's name written as Kimimaru a couple times. As far as I'm concerned, both work fine. I'm sticking with the Kimimaro spelling for the sake of consistency at this point.


	8. Chapter 8

VVVVVV

Sakura drifted awake the following morning to a sense of relaxed well-being. There was something wonderfully comfortable about the heat of another body at her side and the feel of sheets instead of her own rougher blanket. She heard the sound of easy breathing beside her and thought perhaps she could feel it too, fanning out softly against her cheek.

The fact that she had slept with Kimimaro – and was still in his bed right now – clamored for attention somewhere in her head. Sakura opened her eyes, preparing to do some damage control.

Kimimaro had thrown his arm across her, it rested lightly across her collarbones. Sakura shifted to look at him as quietly as possible, but found her precautions had been in vain. The clear green eyes were open, and he looked at her in such a way… it would make any girl weak in the knees. There was so much intensity there, so many unspoken thoughts…

The tiny 'beep' which marked 7:00AM on her watch snatched Sakura from her musings. She straightened up briskly; Kabuto's entrance with her breakfast was usually fixed at 7:30AM and it would never do for him to find her like this. She ran her fingers through her disheveled hair, twisting it into a braid while she thought of something suitable to say to the man who was watching her. Something like _'this will never happen again, please stop looking at me' _or _'It was a one time thing. Don't read too much into it.' _or _'you are beautiful and I love it when we touch.'_

_Er…_

Sakura settled for flipping the covers and sliding off, shivering as bare feet touched the cold tile. "Kabuto will be arriving soon."

"You are very warm."

Sakura paused, train of thought put slightly off-kilter by his subject change. "…Yes. I have many questions to ask him."

Kimimaro considered her but said nothing.

The significance of the past day's events loomed with more and more urgency as Sakura's sleep-fogged mind became alert. "You knew all along."

"I did."

Sakura huffed slightly, searching for some shard of anger like that which had spiked yesterday. She found only a sense of nervousness, of fear. "I just want to get out of here. Alive."

"I do not know what they are planning."

"Kabuto told you nothing yesterday?"

"Nothing relevant."

"If he had, would you –"

"I don't know." Kimimaro was silent for a moment. "I do not want you to leave."

Sakura felt the tiniest tug in her chest at his guilelessness, his openness. She shook her head, "and what… stay here in Sound for the rest of my life? Get labeled as a missing-nin? You hardly need me any more."

"Yes I do."

"Don't be silly. In a few weeks you will be as healthy as before – healthier, even."

He shifted as though to say something, but Sakura interrupted with an exaggerated look at her watch. "I'd better go."

Her own room felt rather cold. Sakura moved to the bed and mussed it up appropriately, then sat on it cross-legged with a somber expression.

Kabuto's soft footsteps sounded in the hallway at 7:29AM. Punctual as always. Silence fell for a few moments as he paused on the other side and Sakura felt herself tense.

Kabuto entered without his usual sharp knock, bearing a tray. He placed it on the desk and turned to face her, crossing his arms.

One hundred vicious verbal jabs passed through Sakura's head, but she remained silent.

"It would seem that yesterday was quite revelatory for you."

Sakura kept her face impassive and held her tongue. Any mistake on her part here could be very costly. He went on. "I should… discipline you for your behavior yesterday. You know you should not have even considered moving off on your own while I was occupied."

She lifted an eyebrow and said dryly, "I was hardly attempting to escape."

"The consequences were nevertheless displeasing. There are some things you were better off not knowing."

"Such as the fact that Sasuke is now a homicidal psychopath, perhaps?" Sakura's lips lifted in an imitation of mirth.

"He was thrown at seeing you here. It is not unlike Orochimaru to test the loyalty of his followers."

"I see." Sakura glanced at her fingernails. "And the fact that this entire scheme was nothing but a trick, that was also quite a revelation."

"Yes, I suppose it was." Kabuto regarded her seriously, then gave a one-shouldered shrug. "At times it is easier to bend people to your will when they think they are doing something to help out another – in your case, your worry about Sasuke made it easier to acquire your aid. At least, that is Orochimaru's take on it."

Sakura's glare could bore a hole in the wall. The fact that Kabuto was rationalizing this so easily irked her beyond belief. There was not a trace of remorse. Just like after his betrayal at the Chuunin exams.

He allowed her to stew in her anger for a few moments, then continued. "I could bring you to accommodations far less comfortable than these." A motion at her surroundings followed, and Sakura glanced at her little desk, the stool, the partially-open entrance to her bathroom.

"And the meals could be… nonexistent." Sakura's gaze fell to the hot bowl of oatmeal on the desk.

"And… there is far worse I could do with you than simply allow you to write notes in your spare time." Kabuto cocked his head and considered her intently from behind the glasses. Sakura recoiled visibly. Who knew what warped experiments this man was capable of, with a subject like herself who could heal constantly while her chakra reserves permitted?

"Your stay in Sound until this point has not been uncomfortable. This could change very rapidly if you give us problems. So… despite whatever self-righteous wrath you may be indulging in, we fully expect further cooperation from you until we find your presence here unnecessary."

Sakura unclenched her jaw long enough to repeat "we?"

"Yes."

"Yourself and Orochimaru I would presume."

"That's correct."

"He's here?"

Kabuto gave her that small smile once again. "We have means of communication other than simply face-to-face, Sakura."

She stared at the floor. In retrospect, it was probably best that she did not speak with Orochimaru. Kabuto was more patient and less ruthless. "How much longer?"

"Perhaps a week or two. Now that Sasuke has arrived, it may be interesting to have Kimimaro train with him instead of with me." Kabuto paused to push up his glasses in that characteristic manner. "You saw their little interaction. It's entirely possible that Kimimaro could get seriously injured."

"I was only brought here to heal his lungs. Not to act as a personal nurse for the length of his training."

"You seem to be under the impression that you have a choice."

Sakura folded her arms. "Hm. What else? Shall I heal Sasuke too when he gets injured? What about you after your training? What about the pathetic remnants of human beings which you experiment on? Do they need healing too?"

"You know very well that I can heal myself without a problem. As for the rest… don't give me ideas."

"Kabuto. I'm sick of you worming other elements into this agreement."

"I don't know why you're still calling it an agreement."

Sakura decided to play her honesty card. "Look. All I want to do is get out of here as soon as possible, all in one piece."

"And you will, eventually."

"Give me a date."

"Let's say ten days."

"I'll hold you to that."

"It's a tentative schedule."

Sakura gritted her teeth. "Alright. I can work with that. But, Kabuto…" Sakura lifted her eyes to his and continued, "I will not do anything else for Sound. This is it. Anything more and I may as well kill myself now, or be executed for treason in Konoha."

Kabuto lifted the corner of his mouth in amusement at her serious tone. "It is good to see such loyalty."

Sakura sat straight-backed and set her mouth in a straight line. She was not prepared to flip back to pleasant prisoner mode easily. After a few moments of angry staring, Kabuto broke Sakura's gaze and passed into Kimimaro's room. He returned soon after. "I don't suppose you have any idea where Kimimaro went?"

Sakura shook her head slowly, suddenly realizing that Kimimaro would have been able to hear the entire conversation. She quelled the (really quite ridiculous) hope that she hadn't said anything too spiteful about him.

"And I don't suppose you would have any idea why this" Kabuto held up his hand "would have been on his pillow?"

Kabuto approached and Sakura was able to make out a single hair, pink, held between his index and his thumb.

She lifted her eyebrows and shrugged nonchalantly. "No idea." When he kept holding it there, watching her, Sakura added irritatedly, "what are you implying?"

"Oh, I don't know –"

"That I routinely have sex with my patients?"

Kabuto smirked. "No need to be so defensive. It was just a question."

She leaned backwards as he neared. He caught her by the chin. "Maybe I would like to be a patient of yours, after all."

Sakura swatted his hand off. "Please. Let's keep things professional."

Kabuto pulled back with a vaguely sinister chuckle. "Let's. I will go look for Kimimaro. He will be made to train with Sasuke."

"Can I watch?"

"No. Your presence brought out the worst of them yesterday."

"But that was –"

"I said no, Sakura." He tilted his head. "Unless you feel like convincing me?"

Sakura relented with a glare. "No thank you."

VVVVVV

Kimimaro returned that night looking disheveled but distinctly pleased with himself. Sakura supposed the training had gone well – there was a definite air of self-satisfaction about him before he went into the shower.

Sakura gave Kimimaro a quick once-over when he emerged a quarter of an hour later. He sat on the bed in his usual position, legs hanging off the side and hands occupied with twin white knives.

Sakura healed several deep cuts and bruises within a few minutes ("_and_ you overextended your shoulder ligaments again"), then turned her attention to a single lengthy burn mark extending from Kimimaro's shoulder to his navel. It was black and the texture of the seared skin was strange, like tiny roughened blisters. She touched the edges gently. "Chidori?"

"Yes."

Sakura cocked her head in amusement. "I thought you would be able to dodge it?"

"He got lucky."

Sakura laughed. Pride was not something she associated with Kimimaro, but he clearly had confidence in his fighting abilities.

"The Uchiha does not like his Sharingan made useless. He became frustrated."

"What do you mean?"

"He cannot copy a bloodline trait."

"Ah-ha." Sakura's attention shifted back to the blackened area of Kimimaro's chest. "Well this looks painful. I hope you got him pretty badly."

"I did."

"Oh? And?"

"It was supposed to be a taijutsu-only fight. The Uchiha broke the rule with his chidori. So I broke it too. Kabuto did not like it."

Sakura nodded. It was easy to see that unbalanced, impatient Sasuke resorting to something else when his taijutsu proved ineffective. "I imagine he didn't. Where did you hit Sasuke?"

"One through the trachea. One between the ribs." Kimimaro's smooth voice remained toneless.

Sakura bit her lip to keep from grinning broadly. _Must not be a spiteful bitch._ "I presume Kabuto healed him."

"Yes."

"And then what happened?"

"Kabuto limited us to kicks only."

"I see."

Sakura passed her hands on either side of the scorch mark, studying it. That strange chidori Sasuke now used didn't cause normal burns; it was almost like looking at a combination of acid burn and electrical residue. She pushed her chakra into Kimimaro's chest, careful not to touch the injury. "I'm just checking how deep this goes. I have never seen it before."

Kimimaro nodded absently, eyes on her hers. She supposed he must have been in a fair amount of pain, but he showed none, merely twirling his knives and looking at her, face devoid of expression.

"Looks like it's only superficial… but by the feel of things, it could easily have gone in further."

"It wasn't a solid hit."

Sakura nodded. "That's what I thought. More like a glancing blow?"

"Yes."

"I assume you were busy severing his neck at the time."

"Yes."

"Hm. Did Kabuto have a look at this?"

"He was not sure how to heal it."

"I see. I should be able to do something about it."

Sakura narrowed her eyes slightly as she did a more detailed check. The epidermis had been seared through in a diagonal direction – Sasuke had probably attempted a swinging motion with the chidori, aimed at the head. A dodge and counter-attack from Kimimaro had resulted in this side-swipe, hitting the shoulder then trailing downwards as Sasuke's attention shifted from maintaining the chidori to the bone through his neck. Sasuke was lucky that Kabuto had been present (and competent enough) to deliver a healing – Sakura was positive the wound would have been fatal.

Due to the strangeness of Kimimaro's injury, Sakura decided on a healing motion from the inside out as opposed to attempting to join the skin on either side of the wound. That way, she would be able to ensure that no flecks of damaged tissue would remain within – including whatever strange mix of substances that chidori was composed of.

Her chakra formed a thick line in the subcutaneous tissue just below Kimimaro's skin, mirroring the shape of the wound directly above it. She pushed the cells to split and reform, focusing first on the dermis, then on the epidermal layer.

Eventually, the black began to flake away slowly as it was replaced by Kimimaro's usual pale tones. Sakura finished with a flourish, the smooth press of her palm against his newly formed skin.

"There we go."

She looked with some satisfaction on her work, dusting the blackened flecks away lightly to reveal the healed section. Within a few days, the paler line of skin there would vanish completely. Perfect.

Kimimaro had dropped his knives sometime during this process in favor of holding her on either side of the waist. As she was finishing up, Sakura prepared to grasp his wrists firmly and pull them away. She felt a tug.

"Come closer."

"No, Kimimaro."

"Why?"

"Because I have to –"

He pulled her toward him anyway.

Sakura stood between his knees and looked down with what she hoped was an annoyed expression. "Your shoulder is not done yet."

"So finish it."

If she didn't know any better, Sakura could have sworn he was almost teasing her. She passed her hand across the shoulder, tightening and reconstructing damaged ligaments. His hands were warm on her waist, the fingers at her back exerting gentle pressure as though to prevent her from turning away.

Inner Sakura nudged through her thoughts with a gleeful smirk. _'As if you could run away from this. When all you want to do is jump him right here.'_

A glimmer of Inner Sakura's interjection must have made its way to Sakura's eyes, because Kimimaro had lifted himself and was now standing with her. He pulled her closer and she stared fixedly at the floor, unwilling to meet his eyes. She felt his hair brush her cheek as he leaned to look at her slightly lowered face.

They stood like this for a long time – him looking at her while she avoided his eyes.

She heard him breathe in deeply and glanced up. He had his eyes closed and was passing one hand up her back while the other rested on her hip. The red markings did not quite hide the tired lines just above his cheekbones. Sakura's eyes traveled from the cheeks to the nicely defined jawline. His eyes opened just when her gaze had settled on his slightly parted lips.

Sakura watched his glance flick downwards to her own mouth and decided that this was more than enough for one night. Especially since she did not know what she would do when he started to lean…

"You must be exhausted. It's time for bed."

'Brisk medic mode' had saved Sakura countless times before, and she used it once again – only this time, she felt a distinct tinge of regret.

Kimimaro allowed her to pull away, hand sliding from her shoulder to her elbow to her wrist while she turned to go.

There was no doubt about it – her room was definitely colder than his. Sakura turned to see Kimimaro watching her through the doorway and complained loudly about this fact.

She found it rather difficult to decline Kimimaro's invitation to share his bed again.

VVVVVV

**A/N: **Yes, double update. I'm outtie for holidays and I didn't want to be cruel and leave you with one short chapter.

So much lovey stuff. This is what happens when I listen to Eva Cassidy. Yeah, everyone else lists cool music as their inspiration, I list Eva. "Songbird" was the one for chap 7, chap 8 was "Fields of Gold".

Thanks for the reviews! Broke 100! (blows kisses, throws wads of cash)


	9. Chapter 9

Sakura's remaining days in captivity melted by in much the same manner the previous had – hours spent reading or tinkering in the lab were interspersed with Kimimaro's healing sessions and occasional talks with Kabuto.

On this particular evening, the long-awaited confirmation that Sakura _would_ be leaving Sound, and alive at that, was eventually given. Kabuto informed Sakura of this fact as he brought in her (highly bland) dinner:

"Good news."

"Oh?" Sakura glanced up from a heavy tome on bloodline limits. "What's that?"

"Orochimaru has decided to have you released after all," Kabuto stated as he placed the tray on Sakura's desk. "He had some other tentative… plans… involving you, but I managed to convince him that someone else would be more suitable."

Sakura started in surprise – she had rather gotten used to the idea that she would leave Sound in a body-bag, or not at all. "I see…" She blinked as this information sank in, shutting the cover of her book with a snap. "That was unexpected. I must thank you for changing his mind about keeping me here."

"Mm." Kabuto removed his glasses, wiping an invisible dusk-speck off with care. "I would not particularly want your death on my conscience."

"That's very considerate of you," Sakura sniffed and favored Kabuto with a false smile. "Was there a set date for my release?"

Kabuto fixed her with a thoughtful glance. "In a few days. I will need some time to prepare."

"Prepare… what?"

"Well," Kabuto said, replacing his glasses, "I'll be dropping you off at a two day's walk to the nearest village. We'll have a bit of traveling to do. You'll be able to ask for directions to Konoha from there. And also," he added with – was that a wink? How appalling – "I need to inform somebody that his favorite nurse won't be here to tend to him any more."

"Kimimaro?" Sakura felt herself squirming uncomfortably without really knowing why. "I'm his_ only _nurse, Kabuto."

"Heh." Kabuto looked rather too amused. "Whatever you say. In any case, get ready to leave shortly." He motioned to Sakura's various belongings spread haphazardly across the room.

"Just like that?" Sakura cocked her head – this all seemed too good to be true. "Orochimaru didn't even ask for me to have any memory modification?"

"Apparently what you know – or, rather, think you know – " Kabuto smirked "isn't all that important."

"Oh…"

"For example," Kabuto ran his hand down the rough wall near the door, "we'll be changing locations ourselves shortly. Whatever you've learned about Sound's current setup will soon be useless."

"Aha."

"And certain other things… concerning seals, perhaps…" Kabuto tilted his head "aren't particularly dangerous to us, anyway."

Sakura gave Kabuto a black look and pulled her food tray towards her. "I see."

Kabuto reached for the door handle, turning as he said, "If we are efficient, we might be able to leave by Monday. At any rate, be packed by morning. I will come for you when I'm ready."

"I will."

"I am going to check on Kimimaro and Sasuke. They were having a rather vicious spar when I left," Kabuto chuckled softly as he passed into the dark corridor.

Sakura shook her head, knowing she would probably have a lot of work on Kimimaro when he came back. She dipped her spoon in the watery soup Kabuto had brought in, mulling as she stirred the contents. _I am finally going to be out of here…_

After eating, Sakura busied herself with collecting her gear, ready for a departure sometime soon. Her few clothes were all rather the worse for the wear and her other belongings were in much the same state. Sakura snorted as she noticed one of her frequently-worn pairs of shorts was developing a large hole in the crotch area, finally stuffing it into the bottom of her pack.

This task brought home the length of time Sakura had actually spent in Sound – two months? Three? She had lost track already. She felt so out of touch with reality, trapped as she was in this little room where days and nights rolled by without much change. Instead of seasons and lunar cycles, Sakura's measuring of the passage of time was more-or-less linked to Kimimaro's condition, rather than any other system. 'Two months since lung cleansing operation', 'seven weeks since basic motor abilities returned', 'one fortnight since last rash outbreak', these episodes were Sakura's "clock".

_Speak of the devil_… Sakura thought as she heard Kimimaro's door swing open. _Well okay no, not devil… _When Kimimaro entered – sweaty and disheveled as he was – Sakura was reminded that his looks were far too angelic for that particular expression.

And he seemed rather bothered (well, as bothered as Kimimaro could look) when he come to stand beside kneeling Sakura and her half-packed bag instead of taking his usual route to the shower. "You are leaving." He squatted by her and gave the pack a dark look.

"Yes, I am… and you need to get washed up," Sakura said as she spotted a rather nasty gash above Kimimaro's collarbone. She pulled his pale hair away from the wound, grimacing when it stuck in the half-congealed blood.

"When?"

"Now."

"You are leaving now?" Kimimaro rocked back on his heels, his eyes focused on Sakura's face intently.

She laughed. "No. I meant you need to shower now. I need to take a look at this, and whatever else you decided to damage while out there." Sakura eyed several bloody abrasions on Kimimaro's knuckles and a cut on his sweat-glistening bicep. She brushed a finger along the laceration, unhappy at the swelling around it. Clearly Kimimaro and Sasuke had been training with weapons.

"When are you leaving?" Kimimaro grasped Sakura's wrists in an effort to keep her focused on what was important.

Sakura stared at her hands, suddenly aware that she was hardly better than Kimimaro when it came to unsolicited touches. '_But never with Kabuto. Never with anyone else. Only with him.'_ Inner Sakura giggled shrilly and was promptly shoved into darker recesses.

Sakura freed her wrists and occupied herself once more with her pack, altogether too conscious of Kimimaro's knee touching her thigh and his naked torso right in front of her in all its well-toned glory. "Kabuto said a few days."

Kimimaro nodded, finally breaking his gaze on her face when he got up. "I will go shower now."

"I'll be here."

VVVVVV

She was leaving.

He had known it was coming. He had known all along, that she wouldn't be staying. So why, now that it was finally confirmed, did this fact hit him with such force?

Kimimaro stripped rapidly and stepped into the shower's hot jet, hissing when water ran over the various open wounds on his body. What else had he expected? That she would stay here, in this tiny room, to heal him and be with him for the rest of her life? Stupid. She hardly deserved such an existence. And he himself would soon be sent out on various errands and missions, and then what would she do? Occupy herself with repairing IV stands and polishing scalpels? No.

He lathered up the white square of hospital-issue soap (which Kabuto had 'acquired' a supply of during a minor mission in Suna) and washed off several hours' worth of sweat and blood. He had known it was coming.

Where had those past few months gone? And why hadn't he done something… something… enjoyed them more, perhaps? He had settled into this comfortable routine, and, like all good things that happened to him, it was coming to an end altogether too soon. Training all day, then spending a few precious hours in her company in the evening… her concerned looks and frowns and smiles, all for him… it was idyllic. Of course. Too good to last.

Perhaps he was being selfish, Kimimaro thought as he switched off the shower and pulled open the curtain. Yes, he was probably being selfish. She didn't like it here, didn't enjoy it in the least. She was happy to be leaving. She would be getting her life back, returning to her village and her people.

Kimimaro toweled himself dry, trying to avoid rubbing his cuts. Several had re-opened from their partially-healed state, and blood ran down his skin in little rivulets.

She really made everything far too complicated.

He shouldn't even be having these thoughts. This confused mass of swirling… _things_… in his head and in his chest should not even be there by right. She was just another tool for Orochimaru to use – to fix another tool of his, Kimimaro himself. And that was all.

…at least, that's how it _ought_ to have been. Not this… this mess of sensations and longings and thrills which he did not quite understand but liked very much.

Kimimaro opened his bathroom door to find Sakura leaning on his bedpost, pink hair twisted into a braid, green eyes flicking rapidly from wound to wound as he walked towards her.

He really did not want her to go.

It was so ludicrous that he could have laughed, had such impulsive outbursts not been quashed out of him a long time ago.

And yet… and yet, the certainty of it made it all the more bearable. At least he knew what he wanted, and he knew it with an expectant tension somewhere in his stomach.

VVVVVV

Watching Kimimaro nearing her, Sakura marveled for the hundredth time at the progress this man had made. A walking medical miracle, from a ghastly corpse-like being to this, a shinning example of health and fitness. And absurd good looks. Tsunade would be proud.

Kimimaro was watching her with an almost fierce intenseness as he approached and it was enough to make Sakura feel rather apprehensive. He came to stand in front of her and rubbed his thumb along her chin, regarding her as though something had just been confirmed. He then dropped onto the bed and assumed his usual inscrutable expression.

Sakura tilted her head in amusement. If she could only read his mind… '_You'd like what you saw, wouldn't you?'_… Sakura closed her eyes a moment. If only she hadn't been 'gifted' with an obnoxious hormone-crazed second personality…

Her hands passed over Kimimaro's skin, healing minor scrapes with her usual efficiency. Sakura's thoughts drifted back to her previous conversation with Kabuto, and she realized that this would probably be one of the last times she was doing this.

And that realization hit her with rather an unexpected pang.

She blinked at the sudden sense of impending loss which wound its way into her consciousness. This had become so familiar, so… normal. Smooth skin, still-damp hair, the smell of antiseptic, half-closed green eyes… this was Sakura's one constant here at Sound. Her favorite part of the day, really. And it was coming to a close altogether too suddenly.

_No. No. I'm going home. Naruto, Kakashi, Tsunade. The hospital. Lee. The dog. Medical conference scheduled for December. Konoha research grant I need to win. Et cetera. My life._

Sakura wished she knew what to do with the sudden swoop of gloom which dampened her previously brisk get-to-work-and-pack mood.

She was probably exhibiting the symptoms of that psychological condition, what was it called again… where the victim of an abduction begins to bond with the captors. Slovenski's… Simmons… no, no, Stockholm syndrome. Yes, that was it. The well-documented psychological phenomenon which occurred in various kidnapping cases, where the hostage forms a sort of loyalty and attachment to the abductors. That was all.

'_Loyalty, yes. But not attraction. Not fascination, fondness… magnetism?'_

Kimimaro turned to look curiously at Sakura as she suddenly tightened her grip on his arm._ When I want your opinion, I'll ask for it. Loudmouthed bint._

'_Well you clearly need a refresher course on cognitive psychology.'_

Sakura felt her eye twitch. She shifted her attention entirely on the healing business at hand, effectively ignoring Inner Sakura's continued ramble.

"Looks like you two had weapons today," Sakura said presently, pressing gently at cuts she had just cleaned.

"Yes."

"Well I hope you'll return to taijutsu-only training after…" Sakura found a catch in her throat, unexpected and entirely ridiculous, "…after I leave. Otherwise Kabuto will have a lot of healing on his hands."

Kimimaro gave the slightest shrug, "I do not know. We will probably not train very much after this."

"How come?"

"Orochimaru will put me to use soon enough."

"I see." _But not as a vessel. Which is a good thing. _"What kind of things will you be doing?" Sakura asked, wiping caked blood from above Kimimaro's collarbone. She peered at the gash, glad that it had not hit any higher than that.

"I am not sure. Missions. Sentinel duties." As Kimimaro spoke, Sakura watched his adam's apple move and felt the resonance of his voice with her chakra-glowing fingertips.

"No spying?"

"I am not a good spy."

"What do you mean? You're quiet and discreet…"

"I am not a good liar."

"Oh…"

A few minutes of companionable silence followed, where Sakura finished her work on Kimimaro's larger wounds. She made sure to heal him as well she could, as this might well be her final opportunity to do so. And hell if she would be the one to allow a permanent blemish to remain on that skin.

Sakura turned her attention to Kimimaro's bloodied knuckles. _What did you do, drag them across broken glass?_ She cleansed the many tiny cuts carefully, folding whatever tears of skin she could back into place. In some areas, the damage was such that she could view the whitish glint of the interphalangeal joints amongst the red.

It was a delicate and time-consuming task, and Sakura eventually jostled Kimimaro over so she could sit on the bed as well. They sat cross-legged, facing each other, as they had many weeks ago in a different situation. Back then, Sakura reflected, Kimimaro's condition had still been monitored via chakra-signature, with screens blinking serenely at her in her room. It seemed so long ago now.

…_Oh wow, I'm getting nostalgic about monitors._

Finally, the combination of Sakura's chakra and Kimimaro's own innate regenerative abilities meant that his hands were almost back to normal. Sakura stroked his fingers, adding the final 'layer' of healing which would make the remaining bruising fade away.

Lovely hands, Sakura thought, running a thumb along. An artist's hands. _Hello cliché. _But it was true. The combination of the elegant shape and the long fingers made them almost aristocratic. It made Sakura wonder what Kimimaro would have been like, had he not been subject to such a brutish upbringing and adolescence. Quiet, refined probably. He had a taste for the sophisticated, as she could see in his fighting style and dress sense. Noble, she supposed, but not gaudy. Perhaps he would have had a vaguely superior air, like Neji's, and similar tendencies for the dramatic.

Sakura kept passing her fingers up and down his, lost in these contemplations. She didn't realize that he was touching her back, now catching her hand lightly between his index and thumb, then rubbing her knuckles with a palm.

When Sakura's thoughts finally wandered back to reality, she found herself smiling. She pulled away her hands from where they tangled with his with a shake of her head. She was so easily distracted as of late. These lengthy departures into fanciful reveries did not become her rational, efficient personality. Perhaps she was falling ill. She did feel quite warm, come to think about it. And lightheaded altogether too frequently. And inexplicably giddy and volatile and… happy… for no reason at all. Definitely coming down with something.

'_Congrats, that's the second time tonight you've tried to explain away emotions using science.'_

_Go. Away._

'"_Coming down with something"? I thought we had decided it was Stockholm syndrome.'_

_Shut up._

'_River in Egypt?'_

_I hate you._

"Well. Looks like we're done here," Sakura stated unnecessarily after they had sat in silence for a while. She found herself reluctant to get up and break the tranquility of the moment. Instead, she unconsciously flitted her eyes across Kimimaro's frame, looking for some inconsequential scrape she might have missed. She found none, only firm muscles under soft skin. _'… and does that boy have nice abs or what?'_

Kimimaro took in a breath, releasing it slowly. "I do not want you to go."

"I know." Sakura looked at the floor. "But I'm not staying here."

"I… enjoy it when you are with me."

Sakura gave Kimimaro a half-smile, looking down at where his thumb lingered on her wrist, tracing abstract lines there. "Yeah…"

"What have you done to me?" Kimimaro's hands encircled her forearms, his head tilted almost playfully.

"I haven't done anything," Sakura found herself speaking very softly. She felt curiously weak and excessively comfortable.

"What is it, then?"

"It? It's… it's just… attraction. I guess. A basic procreative urge."

"I like it."

When Sakura did not respond – she was too busy suppressing a curious impression that she was about to float – Kimimaro brought her hand up, gently pulling her fingers out of their slightly curled position. He pressed his lips to the center of her palm, then looked up at her. "It makes me feel alive."

Sakura attempted to disengage her hand from his light grip, "Oh? Yes… yes well endorphins tend to be released, and adrenalin, it kind of –" '_Again with the scientific explanations. Strike three.'_

"…just feels lovely," Sakura finished. When she raised her head, she found Kimimaro considering her with his bright eyes.

"Anyway," she added with a forced air of nonchalance, "I'd better get to bed. Big day tomorrow."

"I am not going to let you go," Kimimaro said steadily.

His sincerity was almost painful.

…as was his grasp on her shoulders.

"Kimimaro…"

"I don't care."

"But it's –"

"You always run away."

"Goodnight."

And she slipped away again.

VVVVVV

**A/N:** Thus ends the Sound Base arc. Does the story continue? You bet your orange leg-warmers it does. Stay tuned, or something.

This chap originally started out in a completely different direction until I decided it sucked, which resulted in the deletion of about 2k words. Whoops!

I still hate the beginning.

Edit: if you don't know what Stockholm syndrome is, check out wikipedia dot org for an explanation.

Yeahhhh sorry for the delay, university has started again and with it mounds of reading and (academic) writing. Fanfiction is near the bottom of my priority list, along with 'having fun' and 'eating 5-6 servings of vegetables per day'. **This story is NOT abandoned and it WILL be continued when I get the time and motivation to do so. Please stop sending me pissy PMs, I don't need them. Feel free to send me nice ones, though. (wink)  
**


	10. Chapter 10

VVVVVV

Sakura spent her last days in Sound in an unpleasantly confused and, she had to admit, frightened state. Despite Kabuto's assurances to the contrary, the rational part of her brain cried that it was impossible for her to leave Sound unscathed: Orochimaru operated on the principle that if person _x_ was no longer of use, they had no reason to be kept alive and should by consequence be disposed of. Sakura's impending release contrasted with that doctrine altogether too sharply for her to be comfortable. She was not naïve enough to think that her release was simply a sign of Orochimaru's gratitude for her help in healing one of his most deadly ninja; such sentiments were completely antithetical – if not alien – to a man like him.

Sakura rubbed her chin thoughtfully and resumed the re-packing of her bag for the third time. Kabuto _had_ mentioned that he had spoken with Orochimaru and changed his mind about Sakura's future, but from what Sakura had seen of their interactions she was quite sure that Kabuto's opinion would have done little to sway Orochimaru one way or the other.

She methodically narrowed down the only logical outcomes of this conundrum, neither of which was particularly comforting:

_Either__ a) this release is a trick and I am going to be slain in new and exciting ways, or b) Orochimaru has planned some use for me and therefore has a reason for keeping me alive – in which case, why would he release me?_

Sakura massaged her temples and took a few deep breaths. She could not make sense of this, and when Sakura could not make sense of something, things did not bode well. Inner Sakura interjected half-heartedly,_ 'can we chose c) none of the above?' _

Moodily folding a last shirt, Sakura crammed it forcibly into the tiny space left in her bulging pack. Her departure was scheduled for the next day at dawn – if it was indeed going to be a departure and not some spectacular execution of Orochimaru's devising – and she had to get some rest.

Her gaze swept the room for the hundredth time for any forgotten items but there was, of course, nothing left – only the neat stack of binders on the desk and beside them a smaller pile of notes. Miscellaneous bandages and debris were scattered amongst the unused electrical cables snaking across the floor. She checked the bathroom and, on Inner Sakura's urging, swiped a small bar of soap._ Small victories…_

When she was quite assured that her things were packed and she was ready to catch a few hours of uneasy sleep, Sakura switched off the lights and lay meditatively on her cot, considering the other problem she had been deliberately avoiding contemplating over the past 48 hours: how she was going to bring herself to say goodbye, no doubt forever, to a patient who was by his alliances an enemy but by his temperament and gentleness of character rather closer to a friend.

Sakura bit her lip ruefully – Tsunade would be downright affronted at this turn of events and would no doubt put Sakura under a lengthy probation period if only she knew. Sakura could see it now as a dreamlike vision in her half-asleep state, the Fifth's disappointed head shake, her narrowed hazel eyes, her lips pressed tightly together in high disapproval, the scuffle and slamming of a body on the other side of her door – _wait, what? _

Sakura silently rolled off her cot and hurriedly squatted near the door, pressing her ear to the keyhole and listening to a muffled disturbance in the dark passage beyond. After a short silence punctuated by angry breathing, a voice she knew well – though she had never heard the steely tones which rang through it now – hissed angrily:

"Uchiha –"

"Let go or I _will_ make you sorry."

"What are you doing here?"

"Passing through."

"You lie."

Sakura frowned as she recognized the whispering voices of Kimimaro and Sasuke sounding none too happy with each other. Another scuffle followed during which Sasuke apparently managed to extricate himself from Kimimaro's hold. The _sotto voce_ conversation continued –

"I wasn't really going to hurt your little medic."

"Keep away from her."

"She was my little medic first, you know."

A body hit the wall and the muted sound of an accurately-thrown palm strike punctuated the air. Sakura tensed, waiting expectantly for the sudden flare of chakra which would tell her that the participants of this muffled combat where beginning to fight in earnest, but felt none – they were clearly attempting to keep herself and Kabuto unaware of their encounter.

The subdued conversation began again after another stifled scuffle – "what are you doing here anyway? I didn't know she had an albino guardian."

"Keeping away homicidal psychopaths–" muted blows were exchanged again "–her words."

"And that would make you what – sane?" Sasuke's sneer was audible in his tone. "So you go from being Orochimaru's lapdog to Sakura's watchdog – that's progress I guess –"

"Orochimaru has nothing to do with this any more."

"Interesting –" another flurry of violent jostling "– does he know that?"

"He knows I will be loyal to him to the extent that he requires it –" a sound cuff resounded briefly "– and that's all that matters to him."

"So you sit here every night."

No answer.

"Does she know?" An indistinct pounding kept Sasuke painfully occupied – punch combo to the solar plexus? – while Sakura digested this vaguely disturbing revelation.

After another few minutes of near-silent grappling during which Sakura's heart beat a tattoo in her chest and her legs began to get severe pins and needles, Sasuke's breathless whisper resumed: "she's leaving tomorrow – I think I'll go wish her a good trip back –"

"Uchiha –" Sakura grimaced; the rasping sound of bone on bone told her that one of Kimimaro's swords had been produced as he spoke "– Kabuto prohibited it, and _I_ forbid it–"

"I said I'm going in and hell if some holier-than-thou, straight-laced Kaguya is going to stop me–" another tussle followed but this time neither participant bothered to curb the eruption of chakra which flashed under the bottom of the door and up its sides with blinding intensity. _Chidori and one of the sword dances –_ Sakura backed away from the keyhole as quickly as possible to avoid the inevitable implosion of her door – but not fast enough.

The next moment found an alarmed Sakura propelled across the room by the force of two angrily brawling shinobi with blazing chakra surging about them, one with a half-formed chidori while the other's hands were a blur of rapidly-spinning twin swords. In the obscure confusion, Sakura was slammed painfully into the wall. She reached upwards with a wince to where she knew the light switch dangled and gave it a hard pull. The bulb flashed on and the sudden light effectively froze both ninja in their tracks.

Glares were exchanged all around before the ever-alert Kabuto came to a skidding halt amidst the smoking remains of what had been Sakura's door less than three minutes previously.

"I felt that flare – what," he asked with a voice growing icier as he took in Kimimaro's frozen lunge forward, Sasuke's activated Sharingan and still-fizzing chidori, and Sakura's slumping form near the wall "–is going on here?"

Not wanting to exacerbate an already difficult situation, Sakura shook her head to clear it, lifted her shoulders helplessly at Kabuto, snatched her pack and moved to Kimimaro's ward without being told to do so. Kabuto shut the door behind her with a sharp click before turning to the two ninja with an inexorable countenance. "We have been through this before..." The remainder of the lecture was lost to Sakura as Kimimaro and Sasuke were forcefully conducted out of the door and into the hallway. Kabuto's angry voice faded quickly but Sakura was sure she caught 'Orochimaru' and 'ridiculous behavior' expressed in very aggravated tones.

Shaken, Sakura tossed her pack on the floor and leaned on Kimimaro's bed, reflecting that her earlier lugubrious contemplations about surviving her departure tomorrow were out of place: surviving the night should have been her first priority, what with a skulking Uchiha heir slinking about and a secretive Kaguya scion acting as a self-appointed guard.

_How long has he been doing that, anyway? Sitting out there at night without telling me? I hope I haven't done any off-tune humming or anything recently. Or talked to myself too loudly…_ An internal black look at Inner Sakura followed this particular reflection._ The Sound has enough mentally unbalanced inmates without him thinking I'm part of their number._

Sakura had always assumed that when Kimimaro went to bed, he stayed there until morning. But apparently he had decided at some point that Sakura needed more protection than a flimsy door and took it upon himself to provide it. _How sweet. _

Inner Sakura materialized in her irritating way. _'Yes, cute.'_

_I meant interesting. From a strictly psychological perspective. _

'_You meant adorably protective.'_

_No – I'm serious. An impulse to defend a medic when he has little to no emotional attachments to his own Sound associates. Fascinating phenomenon. Should be studied more extensively. _Sakura rubbed her eyelids. Her sleep deprivation was catching up with her. Stupid slips of the tongue. Or brain. Whatever.

'_Let's play a game.'_

_Let's not._

'_I'll give you a definition, you guess the term.'_

_No._

'_Ok. I'm starting: refusal to recognize or acknowledge the reality of a thing.'_

_I don't know – tax mitigation? _

'_Nope.'_

_Creation theory?_

'_Wrong. Try again: an unconscious defense mechanism used to reduce anxiety by rejecting thoughts, feelings, or facts that are consciously intolerable.'_

…_I quit._

'_The word was –'_

_Don't care._

'–_denial. You lose.'_

Sakura closed her eyes and jammed Inner Sakura violently into the furthest recess of her brain. _Impudence. Insubordination! When I want your input I'll ask for it. Brazen trollop. _

VVVVVV

After half an hour's worth of saturnine reflection during which Sakura healed a painful bump at the back of her head and soothed her bruising shoulders – _hi, I had a fight with a wall –_ the door-handle jiggled.

"It's locked," Sakura called rather unnecessarily with an apprehensive step backwards. "Kabuto has the key –"

Sakura couldn't hold back a flood of relief – and a smile – when a wafer-thin white blade was pushed between the wall and the door, easily lifting the latch. At least it wasn't the homicidal psychopath.

Kimimaro pushed open the door and slipped into his room, sporting a fresh black eye, a split lip and a demeanor that was bizarrely reminiscent of a contrite schoolboy. His eyes didn't quite meet Sakura's and he seemed to want to be somewhere else. "I am sorry about that," he mumbled eventually, catching Sakura's hand and playing absentmindedly with her fingers before lifting them in the direction of his mouth.

Sakura hurriedly withdrew her hand and considered Kimimaro's battered features. "Don't worry about it. I didn't get hurt." She found herself absurdly preoccupied with that slowly-bleeding lip. "…What exactly happened out there?"

"I didn't trust the Uchiha." Kimimaro stated in his toneless way as he dropped his quest for Sakura's hand and made for the bathroom. He examined his blackening eye in the mirror rather morosely. "At our last fight he spoke about you." Kimimaro began to wash the blood from his cut lip with the brusque movements of one speaking in anger, though his voice betrayed none of it. "I decided to act on it. And I am glad I did."

"Well. I think I could've handled him," Sakura sniffed, feeling the need to suggest that she was a kunoichi as well as a medic, "but thank you. You didn't have to. I didn't expect him to ignore a direct order from Orochimaru."

"The Uchiha wants to kill you," Kimimaro said matter-of-factly. He looked at Sakura in the mirror, stopping a fresh stream of blood at his lip with the heel of his hand. "I don't think you or Kabuto actually realize that." Kimimaro leaned forward, swaying slightly as he watched a thin stream of blood make its way down the white porcelain of the sink to the drain. "And I don't think you could handle it," he added as an afterthought.

"No, Kimimaro." Sakura observed his ministrations from the bathroom entrance and cocked an eyebrow at Kimimaro's evidently weakened state, one which did not correspond to a mere black eye and cut lip. "Sasuke has always had a fondness for the theatrical – you should hear his catch phrases, 'I must gain power, I am an avenger' and all that. He just says these things. He's always been like that. He doesn't mean it."

"He doesn't mean it?"

Kimimaro turned to face Sakura and passed a hand down the left side of his loose-fitting kimono. The gentle pressure caused a streak of red to fuse through the white material and become progressively – horrifyingly – larger. Sakura's hand flew to her mouth – the stain's location was inches below the heart and spreading altogether too quickly. "I think he does."

Shock and anger reverberated through Sakura – at Sasuke for causing such an injury, and at Kimimaro for withholding it from her – until her training kicked in and Kimimaro found himself swung onto his bed and de-robed while antiseptic-soaked cotton pads swabbed at his ribs and Sakura's familiar chakra probed his chest for the depth and width of the incision. "_How_ did this happen? And _when_?"

"Did you happen to hear –" Kimimaro gasped painfully at a push against his ribs to survey his ossature "–someone hit the door at some point?" Sakura looked up from a mass of blood-soaked swabs after a quick chakra 'feel' told her there was no poison in the wound. "You mean before you started talking?"

"Yes."

"Yeah, it woke me up – hold on, I need to concentrate." Sakura's eyes became glassy while her awareness focused entirely on the cartilage connecting Kimimaro's fifth rib to his sternum and the network of arteries therein. She needed to find where this sudden flow of blood was coming from, and quickly. "Good," she said finally, "no puncture of the lung and no fracture. He certainly had the right angle, though. You were saying –" Sakura applied a thick band of gauze to the wound to stem blood flow and expertly applied pressure while eyeing her rapidly-diminishing pile of the absorbent material "…body hitting the door, I presume that was you?"

"He masked his chakra and didn't use any sort of jutsu." Kimimaro paused, looking up at Sakura with a face paler than usual, if that was at all possible. "I did not feel him coming."

"…You mean he attacked you without warning?"

"I told you. He is serious."

"What did he attack you with?"

"Kunai." Kimimaro spat disgustedly. "Didn't want to signal his presence. And I wasn't alert."

"That's low. That's really low… and you shouldn't have kept talking after getting jabbed near the heart, you should have better judgment than that…" Sakura kept up an angry monologue in this vein while Kimimaro lapsed into silence, barely conscious of her except for the quick-moving hands alternatively sealing ruptured vessels, mopping up blood and squeezing the wound shut.

"And why is Sasuke risking Orochimaru's anger just to get back at me? And get back at me for what, precisely? I'm here because of _him_. I agreed to do this to help _him_. So _why_?" Kimimaro mumbled an indistinct answer, found the strength to squeeze Sakura's forearm and sank into unconsciousness. Unalarmed, Sakura adroitly pressed the remainder of the cleaned wound together and began the chakra-intensive process of meshing the two sides. _Sizeable loss of blood but situation is under control, patient is stable, Tsunade can't we order more of these gauze strips, we're almost out, where is our funding going for crying out loud, do we have tetanus injections?..._

Kabuto poked his bespectacled face around the door a few minutes into this process with every intention of making vague threats to Sakura for being the cause of the another squabble, but was taken aback at finding the medic, blood-stained to the elbows and frowning fiercely, leaning over Kimimaro with the tell-tale green glow of healing chakra surrounding her hands.

Kabuto approached slowly, taking in the pads sopping with blood and the partially closed wound under Kimimaro's left pectoral. Kabuto's formerly antagonistic thoughts were replaced by surprise and no small amount of concern: if anything life-threatening happened to Kimimaro, he had to answer to Orochimaru.

"I didn't think they had fought that seriously…?" Kabuto let his statement trail into a question and pressed two fingers to Kimimaro's jugular and two to his wrist to check his pulse, then placed his own hands around the wound to give Sakura access to more chakra should she need it. "I should have been here sooner."

The two worked in conjunction as medics in this unexpected situation, their usual enmity momentarily forgotten. Sakura's mouth was set in a grim line. "His anterior circumflex artery was severed, I just sealed it…"

"And the subscapular?"

"Untouched. But he was pumping out blood from the beginning of the fight until he came back – hold your chakra there, I'm checking the subclavian – and I don't know how he didn't pass out before. Or why he didn't tell me."

"Cause of the wound? Sasuke didn't have the chance to use the chidori, he would have alerted everybody."

"Kunai."

"A kunai?" Kabuto shook his head in disbelief. "That would be why he didn't tell you. He has his pride."

"He thinks Sasuke wants to kill me. I didn't believe him at first, but now…"

"Sasuke should not have been in the base tonight. This is my fault. He was supposed to be collecting some…" Kabuto hesitated in mid-sentence, "things for me."

Sakura glanced up from Kimimaro's gory chest to look at Kabuto, wondering uncomfortably what on earth Sasuke could be trusted with collecting. '_I choose corpses,' _Inner Sakura deadpanned.

If she had known how close Inner Sakura was to the truth, Sakura would have clobbered Kabuto with the extended tri-lingual edition of the Hippocratic Oath right there.

They proceeded in silence for a while, sealing the last few ruptured capillaries. Calmer now that she had a fellow top-flight medic working with her and the situation was more stable, Sakura began to ruminate on the senselessness of the attack. "You know, when you said that Sasuke was unbalanced, I thought you were exaggerating."

"I thought I was exaggerating too, quite frankly." Kabuto pushed his glasses up with the only non-bloody part of his forearm. "I didn't realize how much his mania had developed since we last had him here. And he's good at masking it when he isn't being taken off guard by…"

"Me."

"Yes. I am not exactly a certified clinical psychologist… but I have a theory."

"Go on."

"I think it's safe to say that you represent a past life and a past happiness that Sasuke thought he had completely detached himself from and which he doesn't want to be reminded of. Ergo, you must die."

Sakura nodded thoughtfully before refocusing her chakra on Kimimaro. "Close enough to what I had in mind. It's too bad neither of us was able to determine that before he had this little spree." Sakura gestured to their scarlet-dyed surroundings before adding, "It's probably a good thing I'm leaving tomorrow."

"I would tend to agree."

Sakura searched Kabuto's face for any trace of discomfort at the mention of her ostensible departure but found herself unable to see his eyes; his glasses reflected light back to her and told her nothing.

"What are you going to do with Sasuke?" Sakura asked eventually to break a long silence.

"I'm going to confine him as soon as we are done here."

"_Confine_ him? He'll be thrilled."

Kabuto gave Sakura a self-satisfied smirk over their mingling chakra. "I've learned something about controlling him through his seal since he's arrived... it shouldn't be a problem."

Sakura lifted a brow quizzically but said nothing. She had always understood that only the seal giver could exert any form of control on the victim. Something in Kabuto's look told her that the means of control he had developed weren't entirely in keeping with the seal's original technique – drugs were involved, perhaps? Depressants?

Her thoughts were interrupted by Kabuto's polite throat-clearing. "We're still on for tomorrow morning at five."

"This morning, you mean," Sakura corrected with a dark look at the clock. "I'll be ready."

The medics bent their heads together for the last chakra push and what Tsunade used to call 'mopping up' – the sealing of the dermis and epidermis and final cleaning of the wounded area before bandaging.

"All done," Sakura muttered with some satisfaction afterwards. "I can't say my medical abilities were allowed to get rusty while at Sound." She leaned toward the supine form of Kimimaro and watched his eyelids flutter momentarily. "He'll be coming to soon."

Kabuto, who was meticulously disinfecting all surfaces which had been touched during this impromptu operation, looked up suddenly. "Sakura. You didn't have to heal him, you know."

Momentarily taken aback, Sakura shot Kabuto a questing glance. "What do you mean?"

"I mean this fight was none of your business. It wasn't even the routine training. If he had died, it wouldn't have been your fault."

"I'm hardly heartless enough to let him die just because I wasn't involved, Kabuto." Sakura said, trying to suppress a defensive bristling.

"Hm." Kabuto continued his wiping and looked altogether too pensive.

"Besides…" Sakura added, searching for a more suitable riposte, "don't you remember what you told me long ago? 'If he dies, your life is forfeit'. I'm counting on living to see tomorrow."

"Ah. Nice return." Kabuto looked at Sakura over his glasses and gave her a grin.

Sakura said nothing, wrestling internally with what Kabuto had just brought up and finding herself unable to reconcile herself with the statement she had just made. The fact was, she realized rather miserably, she wouldn't have been able to let Kimimaro die even if her own life hadn't been on the line. _Some ninja. Honestly._

"I'll be back in precisely three and a half hours," Kabuto declared when Kimimaro's ward was back in its pristine state and Kimimaro himself had drifted back to semi-conscience and then sleep. "A pleasure working with you, as always, Sakura... I'm going to put this in here –" he slipped into the wreckage that was Sakura's room and dragged her light cot and blanket into Kimimaro's ward "– because I can't let a prisoner sleep doorless, for form's sake. Even if it is your last night."

"I think you can trust me to not try anything funny. I wouldn't jeopardize my release," Sakura responded, rather piqued – she was nothing if not a cooperative hostage, especially since freedom seemed imminent. "But okay. For form's sake. Three and a half hours. I'll be ready."

Kabuto considered her with knowing eyes before pulling the door to and clicking the lock. _What exactly is this guy playing at?_

Sakura switched off the main lights, sat cross-legged on her cot and leaned on an adjacent wall. She willed the remnants of adrenaline out of her system so that she could rest and be at least partially-coherent in the morning.

Lights from miscellaneous medical paraphernalia blinked companionately at her until she began to doze, unaware that somebody else had just awoken and was observing her with gentle eyes and the ghost of a smile.

VVVVVV

**A/N** Next up, "Chapter 11: _In which we learn that a lot can happen in three and a half hours when two people are locked in a room together and one still has a sore lip._" ;)

Sorry there wasn't more Kimi x Saku action in this chap. It somehow got pushed off to the next one because I can't stop spewing out the medical hax0r scenes wherein I get to show off my utterly PRODIGIOUS anatomical knowledge and bore everybody to tears.

I know the dynamic between Kabuto and Sasuke is inaccurate manga/anime-wise, as is Sasuke's willingness to obey Orochimaru. Please keep in mind that my story is A/U – I started writing it during the timeskip &** I'm not going to make massive character changes in an effort to keep my characterizations up-to-date with an ever-evolving canon**. Anyway, this story isn't even about Sasuke, so… (makes a dismissive gesture before pushing Sasuke into a plothole) who gives a crap!

Inner Sakura's definitions of 'denial' are modified off of dictionary dot com.

Thank you to everyone who read and/or reviewed in my absence. Special thanks to those believed me when I said I would be back to finish this & who waited patiently for two goddamn years. Drinks all around!


	11. Chapter 11

VVVVVV

What Kabuto was _playing at_ was a speculative sort of game.

Kabuto was observant. Kabuto was shrewd. Relatively intelligent too, he liked to think – one didn't survive years of servitude to Orochimaru by being a cretin.

Kabuto was also curious. He was curious in the way that the scientific and the analytical are: when presented with a problem, his first impulse was to slice open, dissect and anatomize until he reached a satisfactory solution.

Kabuto's current problem was this: the one Sound nin who could always be counted on for the sort of unquestioning obedience that Orochimaru demanded had, in the process of recovering his health, somehow transferred his obsessive infatuation from Orochimaru to a medic temporarily enlisted to heal him.

And that medic was not, from what Kabuto had observed, fully aware of this state of affairs. Or if she _was_, her response was one which wasn't, in Kabuto's opinion, appropriately averse to it.

It was possible that like Kabuto, Sakura understood it as the psychological phenomenon that Kabuto thought it was: simply the deflection of Kimimaro's attention from one object to another when the first one was no longer accessible. And, being kindhearted and – Kabuto allowed himself an eye-roll – _ethical_, the medic responded with a kind of professional, neutral acceptance of Kimimaro's behavior.

However, he had seen enough to make him faintly suspicious of their interactions. Small signs, insignificant in and of themselves but when they were considered as a whole…

Unfortunately, all of this conjecture was supremely unsatisfactory for a man like Kabuto trained in the hard sciences. Give him facts or give him death by inference.

And so, when the opportunity presented itself with the broken door incident, Kabuto had conceived of a beautifully simple way of reaching fact-based certainty: a discreet button microphone in the palm of his hand, snap-click on the metallic underside of Sakura's cot when he dragged it into Kimimaro's room, and he would have his answer in a matter of hours, one way or the other.

His other problem was that there lurked, somewhere beneath his solipsistic focus on himself, a desire to be in that room instead of the bone-sprouting aberration. _Bah_. There would be opportunity, he hoped, for tackling that problem very soon. For now, he had the Uchiha to sedate. And some listening to do.

VVVVVV

In the semi-darkness of his ward, Kimimaro watched Sakura fall into a doze and gradually slide out of her sitting position to curl up on her little cot. He watched her breathe in the quick, shallow way of one who is not sleeping soundly. He watched her eyebrows contract and her mouth pull down almost imperceptibly at whatever vision had emerged behind her eyelids. He watched her sigh, turn, and clutch at her blanket before drifting into more peaceful slumber.

The onset of minor nausea when he pushed himself into a sitting position reminded Kimimaro of the ad hoc healing session he had just undergone. He rubbed gingerly at the bandage covering the previously injured area and peeled it off partially when he felt no pain there. His skin wasn't even broken any more, whatever wound had remained post-healing was taken care of by his bloodline's innate regenerative power.

His eyes settled once more on the slim form on the nearby cot.

So. She had healed him again. Saved his life again. And what had he given her? What _could_ he give her?

The fact that Kimimaro had himself saved Sakura's own life on at least two occasions – including that very night – did not count, somehow. That was only the partial repayment an immense debt which included the resurrection – or something near it – of his once near-pulseless body, but also the injection of previously unknown impulses therein: an appetite for something more than a life of servitude, a yearning for something beyond the commands, a desire and hope for that guiltless spontaneity, the touching, shared beds, just_ holding_ the girl…

Kimimaro sat in silence until the ticking of the clock began to intrude insistently on his musings. He listened to seconds become minutes and heard to those minutes trickle away into hours. The concluding seconds, the last minutes, the final hours of time with this person, this medic, this _woman_ who had somehow become the focal point of his formerly closely-bound, sharply-delineated world.

The fact that she would be leaving was a reality which he had, until this point, avoided confronting relatively successfully, except in moments of weakness when her thoughtfulness and good will contrasted unbearably with the life he remembered before, and the life he projected after her.

And now her departure was imminent and Kimimaro could only sit and suffer in silence from a perplexing ache in his chest which had nothing to do with his wound. She could probably alleviate this incomprehensible pain just as easily as she could all of his other lacerations, though it would, he knew, have to involve something other than her usual quick diagnosis and the green glow of healing chakra.

But the ache near his heart became such a prolonged pain and it returned with such insistent pounding at the thought of loosing this one thing that was actually _precious_ to him that Kimimaro couldn't keep still, he slipped off of his bed to squat at her side.

Eventually, a hand drifted towards Sakura, hesitated a moment, pushed a strand of hair from her face, and withdrew. It returned shortly afterwards and traced feather-light touches down her arm, then back up, up to the oh-so-warm neck and the cheek…

Kimimaro pulled back in frustration.

It was ridiculous. This he had already ascertained some days previously.

It was weak. This too had been considered.

He was, essentially, made hesitant and powerless and vulnerable by her – a strong voice muted to a murmur against its will even as it reveled in making those whisper-sweet sounds. He who was the apex of his clan's bloodline and the summation of Orochimaru's wishes until disease ravaged him, he who had severed countless life-strings unfeelingly now wanted nothing more than to feel…

And it hurt. It hurt with an anguishing throb in the tender place in his chest that he didn't even know existed. It hurt with a pain so different, so much more acute than any he had previously experienced that he felt he might be sick with it, be consumed by it until it ached him away to a wretched bitterness.

He leaned to press his face into her hair, into her neck, to breathe her.

And it healed. It healed the leafless, desiccated sapling of emotions which had never had the chance to grow under the gentle rain of human interaction and human love. It coursed through dusty neural pathways whose previous activity was only indifference, or if not indifference, hate. It irrigated the barrens of inspiration, optimism, self-worth, and flooded them with potential. And it awakened the heart.

Thus did Sakura find herself lifted bodily and crushed against Kimimaro like he was going to break her. The air left her lungs until she was unable to breathe, much less scream, much less demand an explanation –

And then she was dropped lightly onto her cot again and two of Kimimaro's fingers were pressed against her lips while he looked at her with the shining eyes and vivid countenance of someone who has come to some epiphanic conclusion.

He sat back on his heels when he was certain that she wasn't going to scream and, almost unconsciously, brought those same fingers to his own mouth before breaking into the first real smile that Sakura had ever seen on his usually impassive face. A smile that went past the very white, very even teeth to reach the green eyes and crinkle their corners.

More than slightly dazzled, slightly groggy, and slightly concerned, Sakura gave Kimimaro a visual once-over before reaching for his forehead. It was warm to the touch but definitely not feverish and so she pulled back in perplexity. "Kimimaro. _What _is the matter?"

"Nothing." Kimimaro stared at her with something akin to happiness, or at least as much of such a sentiment as was possible on his inexpressive features. "Nothing is the matter."

Sakura raised an incredulous eyebrow, feeling increasingly grumpy about yet another nonsensical situation thrust onto her in the middle of the night. "Then what…? Are you feeling okay? I'm pretty sure I did a first-rate job on your stab wound but I might have missed something –"

Kimimaro shook his head no, bright-eyed with a febrile energy he was having difficulty containing. "It was nothing. I am sorry for having awoken you. We… you – still have half an hour to sleep before Kabuto returns." He drew in his lower lip – which his once-in-a-lifetime smile had managed to crack open again rather painfully – and nodded at the clock.

Still mildly disoriented, Sakura followed his line of sight and realized with a pang – _Stockholm's!_ – that he was right. "Oh… wow. Time flies when you're having a good t– well. Well. There's no way I'm going to sleep now, you kind of shook me up and everything…" Sakura trailed off when Kimimaro crouched as near to the cot as was possible without actually being on it with her.

"I'll watch you."

"I'm not going to sleep."

"Then?"

"Then…" Sakura surveyed the room rather desperately for an activity she could suggest for herself or Kimimaro which would alleviate the expectant tension which suddenly permeated the atmosphere. Kimimaro reached slowly for both of her wrists and anticipated her quick withdrawal of them with unsettling ease, so that Sakura found herself manacled by his hands and trapped by the intensity of his green gaze.

Ah. Black eye. Bloody lip. _Ye olde standby._ "I could take care of these," Sakura finally said with a kind of triumphant relief, pulling back her hands with the slightest hint of chakra-induced strength – without which she wouldn't have been able to break the firm hold – to point to the black eye and the lip.

Kimimaro was taking over her personal space even more than usual, which was saying something. He nodded and Sakura found herself pressing herself – or being pressed? –rather uncomfortably to the wall by his leaning over her cot to look more squarely into her face.

Sakura straightened with a briskness she didn't feel and stayed one of Kimimaro's seeking hands with a swat before beginning the healing with gentle pressure around the scarlet markings of his lower lids. "This won't take long." Kimimaro's eyes closed and he tilted his face into Sakura's palm as though to maximize their contact and Sakura willed her hand not to stray as she felt the bruised area around his eye.

Unbidden, a smile stole across Sakura's face: Kimimaro really was enjoying this far too much. Time to shake things up a little. "These are pretty minor scratches, though. You could ask Kabuto to take care of them."

'_Tease!'_ shrieked Inner Sakura with relish. _'Shameless baiting!'_

Kimimaro's reaction to Sakura's suggestion caused her to burst into internal giggles – his eyes flew open to stare fixedly at nothing at all before he turned to look at her with some degree of horror at such an idea. However, when he saw her fighting a grin, he placed her hand back on his cheek with a _look_ and said, "I would prefer it if you do it."

He was so docile under Sakura's hands now that she was reminded of his very different first reactions to her, when he had been tense and uncomfortable at the very thought of someone else's chakra in his system. Now he was the one nudging her, pushing her to continue, with this healing serving as an excuse for the delicious closeness which he so luxuriated in.

Sakura blinked hard to snap herself out of the debilitating mushiness which seemed to be taking over her bones but, alas, her willpower also appeared to have turned to jelly.

She hesitated for a moment – during which interval Inner Sakura partially quashed all restraint, caution and self-discipline – before drawing her healing fingers across Kimimaro's cracked lip. It was a good thing this was the simplest of operations because she was having real trouble concentrating, what with the unexpected softness she found there and the way his lips curved into a smile when she was finished and his searching mouth's trailing downwards to her inner wrist to press what could only be a kiss there –

And then they were nose to nose and Sakura was unable to look up because she knew, she _knew_ that when she did all of those carefully-constructed barricades of hers would collapse at the sight of his refined features and his bewitching eyes and his utterly unguarded weakness for her... but his cheek nudged hers insistently and then his hands held her face and would not let her turn and did he always breathe that quickly? –

Sakura closed her eyes and felt their exchange of breath for the space of heartbeats until his nose bumped at hers and his mouth hovered above her skin. His antiseptic smell filled her until she was dizzy with their proximity, then he was touching his mouth to her cheek, pressing his lips to the corner of hers, dragging a hand to her waist to hold her to him, and all Sakura could do was mumble an inaudible "I don't think –" until she was silenced by his kiss – she threaded her hands into his hair and pressed herself into him and found his mouth with hers –

When Sakura nearly tripped over her own pack while being half-dragged, half-carried by Kimimaro to a more comfortable location – his bed – her self-discipline returned with an acerbic vengeance: kissing was tantamount to admitting she had feelings for him, and _this_ would be tantamount to treasonous fornicati– er, fraternizing with the enemy. Unacceptable.

Her brain screamed stop even as she was biting one of his ear lobes and he was doing delightful things near her collarbone with his tongue. Sakura snapped back to reality with a lurch and pulled away from Kimimaro with unsteady knees and regret rising like bile in her throat – though whether the regret was at having stopped or at having _to _stop, she was too flustered to analyze at this instant – "I think that's enough –" she finally forced out rather breathlessly at Kimimaro's questioning glance. "I have to go."

VVVVVV

In his own quarters sat a markedly unimpressed Kabuto. He snapped off the small radio with an impatient flick.

Nothing interesting had been said at all. How disappointing. He'd heard himself mentioned but it was all in a perfectly legitimate context.

Aside from unexplained lapses into static-y silence – which could be attributed to anything from their unremarkable conversational skills to equipment malfunction – he had heard nothing of note.

So Sakura was a distant professional after all. Go figure.

After a glance at his watch, Kabuto swung his backpack on and made for Sakura's room at a brisk pace: he was one minute late.

VVVVVV

**A/N** Kissing scene no jutsu! Standard overuse of dashes technique!

Not as sexy a chap as many of you expected… what can I say, I've gone to considerable lengths to establish this Sakura as a self-controlled, smart woman who is more likely to follow her head than her heart… sad for us, but probably good for her.

Man, some of the Kimi introspection scenes there border quite hilariously on the pedantic and the pretentious. I'm sorry.

No one cares, but: my intention with the Kabuto stuff was to make people scroll back up and read the Kimi/Saku conversation and see how innocuous it sounded and thus realize how skillfully rendered the kissy-kissies were without having people flopping about moaning "OOH MMM". But never mind – it ended up being most _un_skillfully rendered thanks to my utter lack of writing finesse.

Chap 12 will be up in a couple days. I decided to split it from this one because the episodic nature of serial fanfic like this seemed to require 'PRESS NEXT' at this point. (Edit: never mind the quick update -- I'm working on my other fic for a change.)


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